Rearview Mirror
by SlayGal
Summary: The Scooby Gang and new Slayers are moving on after the battle with The First. Their lives have changed forever, be they Slayer or not. Evil is hiding and it's about to make a comeback. But when, where and how?
1. Casualties

Title: Rearview Mirror

Author: SlayGal

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: All characters you recognize are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemey, Fox, etc. Any characters you don't recognize and the plot is mine.

Summary: The Scooby Gang and new Slayers are moving on after the battle with The First. Their lives have changed forever, be they Slayer or not. Evil is hiding and it's about to make a comeback. But when, where and how?

Chapter one: Casualties

The bus pulled into the nearest motel. It had been a long journey since their last stop just outside of what used to be Sunnydale. It seemed everyone was tired and not in the mood for talking. Buffy got off the bus with Dawn, Xander, Giles and Willow, who immediately following her to the check-in desk. Kennedy and the other surviving Slayers got off the bus and sat just down on the ground. A few remained on the bus, some sleeping, some couldn't be bothered to move and some just not believing they had survived; it was too surreal for them.

In the small town of Brunty, they had rented enough rooms, with people having to share of course, for the eighteen survivors. Miles from no where but for tonight it was to be their home. Willow and Kennedy we're up for sharing a room. Giles had been given his own room, for which he was glad; he didn't want any of the new Slayers bunking down in his room. He had once said secretly to the Scooby Gang that he had had enough of them for the time being with all their yacking, making noises etc. Buffy and Xander had elected to share a room together. Rona, Vi, and two other new Slayers shared a room, leaving the rest to work the arrangements out for themselves. The maximum in a room though was four, but even between all the awkwardness of Faith and Robin still ended up sharing a room.

The organizing of who was going to sleep where was planned outside near the bus and everyone went off in groups to their rooms once it was all sorted out.

Buffy and Xander stayed in their room for a while talking about the good old times in Sunnydale, trying to cheer each other up and they both weren't afraid of using the 'A' word, Anya, or the 'S' word, Spike, with each other which was definitely good. They were helping each other heal the pain from inside.

Dawn sat downstairs at a table in the dining room with Willow and Kennedy. When Faith and Robin strolled in, the other three were in the middle of conversation and dinner. After a few awkward situations with Faith and Robin earlier on in the week you'd think they'd be at least holding hands or something, but there was no sign of that. One, or both, of them was pulling back on the closeness and neither wanted to look each other directly in the eye which, but there was definitely a spark between the two.

Giles had been in his room on his own since he had collected his key and no one had seen him since. His room wasn't close to any of the noisy girls and he was glad about that. He sat on the emerald green armchair in his room with his glasses placed on the bridge of his nose while he read through some texts he had saved from Sunnydale before its collapse. He breathed heavily as he turned the pages and slowly closed his eyes, falling into a light sleep. The book rested in his lap and his breathing slowed.

Buffy was on her way to Giles' room. Xander and Buffy had talked a lot and needed to do some things on their own. Xander took a shower and changed into one of Anya's favorite outfits. It wasn't even anything fancy, it was just normal Xander clothes, which were some jeans and a shirt, with two buttons undone. The shirt was a color blue, in between light and dark. The color Anya liked. He looked through some photos of Anya, and his friends that he had saved at the last minute. A tear went down his cheek, no one was looking so there was no need to hide his feelings and confide them inside himself. The small tears that were released from his eyes left a subtle mark on his shirt and then fell on the photos in his hands.

Dawn still seemed to be in a pissed off mood from when Buffy tried to get Xander to take her away from the fight. The Summer's sisters needed to have a long talk but there was no time for that now. Willow and Kennedy couldn't stop making googly eyes at each other smiling, Dawn's mood would change every now and then, and she would tease them. They all had a good laugh and surprisingly, after all that had happened over the past year and the final fight at the Hellmouth, Dawn had gotten over the potential Slayer jealousness that was inside her and made friends with a few them including Kennedy. Most were around her age anyways.

One of the girls saw some pamphlets near the check-in desk about places near by for tourists. On the notice board was a local town map and the four girls studied it for a short period of time. They spotted the main street and a place called REX. It sounded interesting enough and if wasn't the entertainment they wanted, then they could just stroll down main street for a while.

Julie, Sarah, Belle and Naomi walked into the dinning room at eight o'clock and found Dawn.

"Hey there Dawnie," said Naomi.

Dawn turned around to face the girls, "Hey girls. What's up?"

"We were just looking at the local town map and there could be a place worth looking at for some fun."

"I dunno. Buffy might not like us going out in a town we don't know."  
"Well look at it this way. No matter where we go from here, we won't know the place and plus we're now Slayers and your, well you know your fighting stuff, Buffy taught you at all that stuff."

Dawn sat and listened to Naomi, and images of Buffy training her flashed before her eyes and how when the potentials came, her training had come to a halt.

"Yeah I see your point. Plus we do need seem quality down time."

"See I told you she'd be up for it," said Julie.

Willow and Kennedy had paid no attention to the other girls, they were too fixed on each other, so

Dawn left the table and started to follow the other girls out of the dining room.

Willow turned around and said, "Where'd she go?"

Kennedy pointed to across the room, "Over there."

"Oh looks like she's going to hang out with some of the new girls."

Kennedy looked at Willow, "Is that what you call us now, new girls? Is that what you call me?"

"No I meant. You know.. new Slayers.."

"Shh!," said Kennedy putting her index finger up to Willow's lips and pulled it away, "It's okay. I don't take it personally... Much."

Willow smiled and kissed Kennedy on the cheek.

Faith had stopped listening Robin talk on about the Turok-Hans that he had fought during the fight at the high school. Robin couldn't believe some of the things that had happened and couldn't stop talking on about it. Faith had gotten fixated on the conversation between Dawn and the other girls. She overheard that they were heading into the main part of town for some 'fun'. She thought it sounded like a great idea.

"Faith?! Are you even listening to me?"

"Oh yeah," Faith faced him directly, "Yeah. I heard you. You fought some Turok-Hans."

Robin rolled his eyes.

"What now?"

Faith tried to keep one ear on the end of the conversation and one eye looking in that direction while the rest of her paying attention to Robin.

"Ah what do you mean what now? It's not like I do this _all_ the time."

Robin looked at her with slight smile.

Faith could now see Dawn making her way to the day to the entrance and exit of the dining room. Her chance for out about in the town fun was slipping from her small grip.

"Faith?"

"C'mon," she said excitedly and tugged on Robin's right hand and she stood up.

"Huh?"

"Just trust me. We're going to have fun."

She tugged on his shirt sleeve now.

Robin looked down at his meal, "But we haven't finished our meal and the dessert looks nice."

Faith was practically bouncing up and down now full of hyperness, "C'mon man. Forget about the food and..."

"Forget about the food? Huh. You're always the one saying your hungry and wanting food even if haven't been out patrolling."

Faith smiled and then sighed.

"Robin! You coming or not?" said Faith with her arms crossed.

"Okay, okay. This better be good."

"Of course it will be. Trust me."

Robin stood up, placed his napkin on the table and Faith grabbed his arm straight away and started to run towards the door with Robin tagging on behind. When they got through the door and down the hallway they saw Dawn tagging along with the other girls she had recently become friends with.

"Dawn!"

Dawn turned around after hearing her name being screamed out at the top of some girls' lungs. She saw Faith with a grin on her face and then Robin looking puzzled beside Faith.

"Yeah?"

"I heard you talking about going into town for some fun. We're coming too," she said, jabbing her thumb at Robin.

His head turned and looked at her.

"How did you hear from where you were sitting?"

"Slayer hearing."  
"Stupid question."

"C'mon on then," called Naomi, "we don't want to hold up the fun any longer."  
They all started walking out of the motel and into the street. They weren't going to take the school bus into town, so they walked for a bit until they got to the Brunty Rent-A-Car Shop.

Wood was blackmailed into getting a fiery red MX-5 SE, while the girls went for a misty blue Mazda-3. Wood had convinced Faith that he was in a good enough condition to drive since of his injury to his head, so he was driving the fiery red machine while Faith was looking at the miniature pocket size map. Faith had decided to let him drive anyways, she didn't want to argue about who would drive this once. She _let_ him win this time. Wood thought it was enough to let Faith pick the car, but since she was in an extra hyper mood maybe it was safer for him to drive.

"On the map it says turn right after the next two sets of lights."

"You sure?" asked Robin.

"Yep."

The roof of the car was open and Faith's hair was blowing in the wind. The misty blue machine had music blaring from it and the windows were wound down as the cruised the quiet streets which now filled with the sounds of their music as they made their way to REX.

As Buffy had made her way to Giles' room she had heard a few weird noises but paid them no mind.

Giles had just about fallen into a deep sleep; his breathing could no longer be heard by the average person. Images of his life were flashing before his eyes, like one would imagine what might happen just before you die, but Giles wasn't close to dying. The images were of certain events in his life but were all jumbled, some he had tried to forget. It then focused on the memory of when he was told he was going to become a Watcher at a young age by his father who explained what the job and 'destiny' entailed and that he had been and was one just like his father had been. It seemed to be a family tradition that young Rupert wasn't so keen to carry on to the next generation. Giles started to twist and move more frequently and roughly in his chair, tossing and turning. New, not so well known images flashed before his eyes and he woke up suddenly. He sat himself up better in his chair. The book suddenly fell off his lap and closed with a loud noise which startled him and then there was a knock on the door which startled him again.

Giles got out his handkerchief, wiped his glasses clean, placed them on the bridge of his nose again and said, "Who is it?"

"It's me Giles, Buffy. Can I come in?"

"Oh, come in. The doors unlocked."

Buffy turned the door knob. The door opened and she stepped inside. He looked at her and smiled. She tried to smile back through the pain, but failed. Giles got up from where he was sitting and walked over to her and gave Buffy a hug. He pulled back and walked over to the bed.

"So what have you been up to in here?"

On his way back to the bed, he stopped and turned around, "I was doing some reading," then walked over to where he had dropped his book, bent over, picked it up and placed it on the beside table.

Memories flashed before his eyes again and he tried to maintain his balance.

_Giles was standing in the doorway to Buffy's bedroom back in Sunnydale._

"_Buffy I-I understand your anger. Please believe me, we did what we-"_

_Buffy trying not to look directly and Giles said, "He's alive. Spike's alive. Wood failed."_

"_Well, that doesn't change anything. What I told you is still true. You need to learn-"_

_Buffy looked at Giles._

"_No, I think you've taught me everything I need to know."_

_The door to Buffy's room shuts in his face._

Giles blinked. He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes and turned to look at Buffy. She was still standing in the doorway. He signaled to her for her to enter the room. Buffy, however, wasn't so sure. Giles didn't look too good. Reluctantly, she sat down on the bed.

"Are you okay?" asked Buffy.

"I think the question should be the other way around. I'm fine. What about you? How you holding up? Truthfully."

Buffy paused for a moment, as if thinking about what to say, and then began talking. "The thing about a war, a battle, a fight, is there are always people left behind at the end. There are the people who died and who were wounded, known as the casualties of war but did anyone think of the people remaining, having to deal with the pain, the aftermath, have to deal with reality? They are the casualties of war too."

****

Beck Rogers was sitting on the couch in her living room in her small home town of Cherster, when a memory, an image, flashed before her eyes, one she did not remember owning. The man was Rupert Giles, in his Ripper days. Someone was dying and there was nothing Beck could do.


	2. Element of Mystery

Chapter two – Element of Mystery

Buffy didn't always say what she really felt at certain times, but she was true and down to earth when answering Giles question. He comforted her as she sulked on his shoulder. The image from before was still fresh in his head. Giles tried best to shift it away, to focus and concentrate on his 'ex' Slayer, but when he figured out how to get rid of the image; a new one replaced the space. Somehow the image came back every time: a woman, older twenties, early thirty's, leaning over a body on the floor of an old apartment, blood all around her kneeling form. There seemed to have been a fight or struggle of some sort, broken pieces of furniture and glass on the floor and a gun not too far away. A knife was slightly closer by. It seemed clear that the man was dead.

Andrew was speeding down the highway on his brand new motor bike on his way to Los Angeles. On his back he had his Star Wars rucksack, contain all the essentials. His mission was to go to Angel Investigations to report on what had happened seeing as none of the surviving Scooby Gang and co. had managed to save a mobile phone before Sunnydale collapsed so they had no way of contacting Angel. Even though he didn't know many of Angel's gang, he had spoken to someone called Fred once and that was who he was going to ask for first. Everyone had expected someone else to have saved a phone and everyone was extremely busy around the time before their fight and they were all concentrating on surviving and getting through what was going to happen when they entered the Hellmouth for the first time. So, Andrew was on his way to the Hyperion Hotel, with only a few hours left till he got to his destination. However, Andrew had something else up his sleeve. He had his own personal mission which would lead him to Los Angeles as well.

After Willow and Kennedy had finished their desert they went for a stroll in the near by park. Both the moon and the stars could be seen that night. They walked along the path gazing up at the sky and then sat down under one of the large trees and just started to talk about anything. To them it was perfect.

Xander had a quick bite to eat; he wasn't feeling too hungry, so headed back to his room and laid on the bed. Not long after he had fallen asleep.

Faith and Robin were just about two minutes away from REX, while the misty blue girls had zoomed on ahead and now just around the corner from the club and the sounds from their car had drowned out in the music coming from inside the club.

'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes was blasting out of all of the speakers in REX and the song could be clearly heard in the queue to go in.

_And I'm talking to myself at night  
Because I can't forget  
Back and forth through my mind  
Behind a cigarette  
And the message coming from my eyes  
Says leave it alone_

Don't want to hear about it  
Every single one's got a story to tell  
Everyone knows about it  
From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell 

Faith and Robin pulled into the parking lot and strolled on over to join the semi-long que into the club. Dawn and the other girls were two spaces ahead in the line. Before they knew it Dawn, Naomi, Julie, Sarah and Belle were face to face with the bouncer dude. Naomi tried to sweet talk him but he wasn't interested in her. He let them in. but Naomi was pissed off at him and wanted to plan pay back. However, the rest of the girls told her to let it go, it was nothing to worry about.

The next people in the queue were causing more trouble with the bouncer so the line was held up a little. There were a group of guys in front of them who were rather loud but that wasn't a problem but one guy kept turning around and staring at Faith right in front of Robin. Robin got all defensive and then suddenly had a go at him and Faith tried to calm him down. The guy said something to Faith and Robin was blowing up.

"Woah! Robin. Calm down. I can defend myself, its okay," said Faith holding onto Robin.

Robin looked back and fourth between Faith and the group of guys. Robin had his eyes fixed on Faith now.

Faith turned to the guys looking at her, "Now once you guys get in, split and get the hell away from us. I don't want to see you again. Understand?"

They got the shock of their lives and just nodded their heads showing they understand and then turned to face the bouncer so they could enter REX.

"That's my girl," said Wood smiling at Faith and putting his arm around her but still breathing heavy from before when he get angry, "But I wish you would have let me handle it. You made me look like a wuss."

Faith nudged him on the arm, "But your my wuss," she said with a wink and walked towards the bouncer. Wood followed.

After Buffy had finished getting everything out, she started to feel better. Feeling it was time to go, she left Giles alone for some peace and quiet in his room. Buffy thought he started to act a little weird on at times but she knew if she questioned him now he wouldn't tell her much, so she thought she would leave it for another day and went off back to her room.

Buffy got back to her room and found Xander stretched out, sound asleep on his bed a sleep looking comfortable. Buffy grabbed her stuff and went into the bathroom to change in her pajamas and got into her bed. She stared up at the ceiling in the darkness of the room. Her minded wandered off to different things and events and then her mother came to her in her mind and Buffy re-lived happy memories of just her and her mother. They were the real memories, before Dawn came. Buffy did love Dawn but she new the truth was she was never her sister and she had always wished secretly she could remember her real memories. Now was the time her wish was granted. Buffy smiled and drifted off to sleep.

As Faith and Wood stepped into REX , 'We Used To Be Friends' by The Dandy Warhol's was playing.

_A long time ago, we used to be friends  
But I haven't thought of you lately at all  
If ever again, a greeting I send to you,  
Short and sweet to the soul is all I intend._

A, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh  
A, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh  
A, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh  
A, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh 

_Come on now, honey,   
Bring it on, bring it on, yeah.  
Just remember me when you're good to go  
Come on now, sugar,  
Bring it on, bring it on, yeah.  
Just remember me when. _

Faith started dancing when she heard the lyrics as she started to walk into the building. Really Faith would dance to any song as long as it had a decent beat.

The set out of REX was some what similar to The Bronze, a few differences such as the bar and seating area in different locations and the stage in a different direction.

As Faith made her way to the dance floor, still walking and dancing at the same time, she tossed her hair about and Wood watched on as he followed her. She stopped in her tracks and Wood caught up. Faith watched him come over towards her way. As Robin was in closer reach to Faith he said, "You know I'm not a very good dancer."

"That's what they all say when they dance with me."

Robin raised his eyebrow, "Oh really?"

Faith smiled.

Robin reached out to hold her face and commented, "You have the loveliest smile you know," Faith pulled back and shook her head and her long brown hair covered her face. The color of her hair was a dirty brown.

"But seriously Faith," said Robin, "You should see me dance, ah I mean, you don't want to see me dance."

Faith looked at Robin, "Well your here, for some fun, so man, you gotta dance. We're at a dance club."

Faith began to get jumpy again.Robin sighed. He was doomed.

Meanwhile across the dance floor in REX were Dawn and the other girls sitting at a table having drinks and talking about all the cute guys around their age in the dance club. Dawn pointed out she liked the dirty blonde in the black and blue t-shirt with the baggy pants. Naomi and Belle agreed with Dawn, he did look the cutest and that brought them to a discussion and then they scanned the crowd once more for another guy to talk about. The guy they had just been talking about came up to their table and they were all in total shock when he asked Naomi to dance. Of course this fired up jealously in two of the other girls; while the rest just sat there waiting to find out what would happen next. Naomi talked to Brad for a while and then they went to dance.

"See," Faith said, "You can...um dance."

"Hey," replied Robin lightly hitting Faith in the head, "I heard the change of tone in your voice."

They wrapped their arms around one another and danced to the song.

The song ended and the next song that began took up a little more pace and Faith was dancing around crazy now and Wood tried to join in which was a funny sight.

Wood began to breathe a little heavily, "God how do you keep up dancing at that pace?"

"Maybe I'm just fit," she said with a slight smile while still dancing and showing off to him.

"It must have something to do with Slayer strength, yadda, yadda."

"Yeah yadda, yadda is part of it maybe I guess," Said Faith slightly smiling once more, "But yo! I am what I am and that's the way it goes."

"Oh don't go starting anything about being pretty now. We already went down that road remember?"  
"Oh I don't remember so well but care to refresh my memory?" asked Faith playing games with Robin as she still dance around and well Robin tried to.

"Oh just about me being way prettier than you are. Something like that," said Wood starting to get some of his energy back and his pace of dancing went up a notch.

"Something like that, ay? Now if I recall you were incorrect but would never admit to it."

"I think that's where you get mixed up, I was right. Take a look in the mirror sweetie."

"Oh!" Faith stopped dancing. "I already did before I came, I'm sure I still look the same, can't say the same about you though."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Faith winked, "You figure it out, and I need to go get a drink. Ya want anything?"

"Ahh just a beer thanks."

And Faith just walked off like that through the crowd, leaving Robin to think about the things that just happened.

By now Naomi had danced to a few songs with Brad and he went back to his friends and Naomi went back to the group to share details. Dawn was annoyed, she had her eyes on him first but there wasn't much she could do.

With less than an hour till he got to the hotel, Andrew pulled into the next service station to by some food. He was hoping they would have those onion things that look like a flower but it's an onion. They didn't so he got himself a hot dog, ate it and was back on the road, towards the hotel.

Willow and Kennedy had gone back to their room and had fallen asleep. The only ones who were still awake were the ones out partying at REX.


	3. I Turn To You

Chapter Three – I Turn To You

Naomi sat on her stool at the table surrounded by her friends with Dawn half listening but half not wanting to. "So tell us again what happened," said Julie.

"Well he asked me to dance and we started asking each other questions on why we were here tonight, where we are from, how old, what school etc. and it just lead onto more dancing. It's all kinda a blur if that makes any sense," said Naomi in glowing way.

"Oh I so know what you mean," added Sarah.

"So what town is he from?" asked Belle.

"He actually never answered that question. I dunno if it was on purpose or what. Oh he said he was nineteen turning twenty in a few months."

"So he's a few years older than you, that doesn't matter," said Julie.

"Well did you tell him hold old you were?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah that came up. He seemed fine. Which was… umm… good." Naomi turned towards Dawn, "Are you okay Dawnie?"

Dawn looked up suddenly and had the spotlight on her from her friends. "Oh I'm okay, just feeling a little sick, stomach bug or something. I'll be fine."

"Sure? Cause we could go home, well back to the motel."

"No, no I'm fine, let's stay here for a little while longer."

"Okay then."

"Has he started college yet?" asked Belle.

"I dunno! God. What's with the questions Belle?"

"Sorry. Pft!" Belle got up from her seat and walked over to the bar to sit alone. Everyone else ignored her little outburst except Dawn. Soon after Dawn got up from her seat without being noticed and went to sit next to Belle.

Dawn ordered herself a drink and Belle one too. They instantly bonded and started talking about Naomi behind her back, with the both of them every so often checking back to see if the othes knew what they were talking about. Then as soon as they turned back around once Dawn flicked her hair out of her face when Belle told Dawn to be quiet and Dawn had no idea what was going on. Belle then whispered to Dawn that two of the guys from Brad's group were now sitting not too far away from them.

When Faith came back with two beers from the bar, she couldn't find Robin on the dance floor, figured he'd be sitting down somewhere. Her eyes found him in the crowd sitting down on one of the couches looking lonely. "Hey there lonely boy," she said and accidently clinked the bottles together, "What'cha thinking about?" Faith asked as she sat down on the couch next to him, shifting closer to him.

"What makes you think I'm thinking about something?"

"It's that look you have, the thinking one."

"Great description there Faith."

"Well I was never one for top marks in English, did drop out of high school you know."

"Did you ever think of going back?" asked Wood.

"Never did. It was like, I made that choice and never went back on my decision, it's done and behind me and hey I turned out alright and no more comments about it from you okay," said Faith jabbing her finger at Robin.

"Not going to say a word about it," said Wood holding his arms up high in the arm like he was surrendering.

"Good," said Faith with a nod and handing over one of the beers to Wood. "So did you have time to think about why I am prettier, no wait we know why that is, what I meant is why you need to look in the mirror and I don't to know how I'm looking right now, yeah, that's it, did you think about that?"

"Oh I thought that was all part of the fun and games that didn't make any sense called teasing in a twisted sense. I didn't know I had to sit here and think hard about it while you sat here trying to look pretty."

"There you go, you're going on about it when you said you never wanted to mention it in the first place."

"Okay I'll admit I can be a tad contradicting at some points. I won't lie about that." Wood took a sip of his beer and noticed Faith took a sip of her beer too but spilt some of her top. "Great one. Real lady like."

"Damn!" she said instantly and started to swear out loud and grabbed part of Robin's jacket to dry it off.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" he asked when she tugged on his jacket.

"What do you think it looks like? I needed something to dry it off. Want me to grab some other guy's jacket to wipe my top down? Would you like that?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh yes, I would prefer that not. Want to see defensive persona again? I'd rather not."

"Ah me too."

Robin just looked at her as she let go of his jacket after finishing using it for other purposes than to keep the cold away. "So why didn't you bring a jacket?"

"I dunno. Didn't occur to me to bring one or that I needed one."

"Fair enough, I guess."

Faith had a better grip on her beer now and there was to be no more spills with it. Robin laughed to himself and Faith looked up at him. "I can't believe you spilled your drink and you weren't even drunk. I guess your super strength and abilities don't apply to these sort of things." Faith gave him an evil glare. "Oh come on Faith, you were way too cute to scare me off."

Faith flinched. "Don't say that sort of stuff, ahh! Too weird." Faith sat up properly on the seat. She had kept sinking into the couch in a weird position before.

"Like? Oh you mean cute and all that? Oh I see. You want to keep the tough girl attitude with me okay. I'll stop that for you if you want," said Robin sipping his beer and looking around the room.

"No Wood, seriously, it's okay. I don't love it but I can deal, for you."

"I could reply to this in a different way which would make you flinch but I'll just say thanks," and he kissed her on the lips.

"Hey you tricked me!"

Less than an hour later Faith and Wood had finished their teasing and games and danced one more time until they went to round up the troops to start making their way home soon as well.

Naomi went over to find Brad while the other girls went off to the car. On Naomi's way over to the couch where Brad had been before she noticed Dawn and Belle sitting with the guys looking rather comfortable and in mid conversation so she stormed on over there. "Hey Dawn, hey Belle. Faith just came over to tell us it's about time to get going. Early morning and all," said Naomi at first trying to ignore Brad in her sudden pissy mood.

"Hi Naomi," he said.

She turned and said hello back and told him the story and that she might not see him again but really would hope they would see each other again somewhere in the near future. She hugged him goodbye and Dawn and Belle said goodbye to all the guys and the three girls walked out of REX to the misty blue car.

"Well, well, don't you two have some explaining to do."

As Belle was usually the quiet type Dawn spoke for herself and Belle. "I don't think it's any of your business really. We don't have any explaining to do. Leave us alone."

"Fine be that way Dawn. You were very close to be being accepted into our group and now you're like this. If the rest of the girls are in a good mood then you might get a second chance."

"What?" Dawn stopped walking over to the carpark and Belle went on ahead while Naomi stopped near Dawn. "This is all like some stupid bloody test for me to get into your 'group'? How pathetic. Forget it. This will be my last ride with you and the rest of the talk we have is your everyday manners, polite talk, hello, goodbye."

"Fine." And Naomi walked off in a huff and got into the driver's seat and Dawn got into the back with Belle and Sarah.

The next morning, after a good cooked breakfast, they were all on the road again bright and early. To some it was obvious who were morning people and who weren't. Some Slayers fell back to sleep on the bus resting their heads on pillows.

Faith was tired for a change and rested her head on Robin who she was sharing a seat with but she was streched out over most of the seat so Robin was kind of uncomfortable but he didn't say a word to Faith just to everyone else around him thought he looked uncomfortable and they looked sorry for him too. This sentence is far too long. Find a way too break into down into smaller sentences rather than one long run-on sentence. Buffy had grabbed some maps and was looking through them while sitting at the front of the bus near Giles who was driving. Xander was sitting near by and so were Willow and Kennedy. Dawn had still been a bit distant towards Buffy and was sitting somewhere in the middle of the bus next to Belle. Not too far away were Sarah, Julie and Naomi, staring at Dawn and Belle, talking behind their backs and especially about last night.

"According to one of the maps I picked up and what the owner of the motel told me, there's a town not too far from here called Cherster. It's bigger than Brunty but nothing enormous. But judging from the map, not Sunnydale size, not Los Angeles size, Cherster size… just right."

"Buffy you make it sound like goldilocks and the three bears."

"Xander. You may have just jinxed the place," said Willow jokingly.

"Huh?"

"Now the town might be under some fairy tale spell."

"As if Will. Something like that has never happen." Xander paused for a second. "Oh wait."

"Yeah, something worse has happened," added Willow.

"Well Cherster has a certain ring to it." Kennedy looked at Buffy. "Okay, okay, not really but I'm just trying to be optimistic people."

"Oh hey they have a wishing well!" yelled Xander. Buffy, Willow and Kennedy shot him looks all at once. "Okay. I'll stop but hey the map does show it has one," said Xander pointing to it on Buffy's map.

"Umm Xander," began Buffy looking directly at Xander, "that isn't a wishing well."

Xander looked confused and Willow and Kennedy leant over towards the map in Buffy's hands. "It's a mill. A flour mill. See," said Willow pointing to another key symbol of the same shape, "there's another mill."

"Oh," replied Xander feeling awkwardly stupid right now.

Giles then called out, "Is everything okay back there?"

"Yeah Giles. Everything seems fine. Thanks for asking. Do you need a rest from driving yet?"

"You thinking of driving?" asked Giles sounding surprised.

"Maybe. Why?"

"Oh nothing."

"Okay," replied Buffy.

Willow picked up a pamhelt from off the seat Buffy was sitting on alone. "What's this one about?" Willow scanned it. "Oh housing. Oh renting and a caravan park."

"As adventurous as it sounds Will, we ain't getting all eighteen of us staying at a caravan park."

Willow looked disappointed.

"We have to be serious about this."

"Just thought it would be fun."

"I know. You can have some fun soon I promise." Buffy laughed and Willow smiled.

"According to this," began Kennedy, "it looks like Brunty and Cherster aren't that far apart if this housing pamphlet covers the areas between the two towns and includes the towns as well."

"Maybe there is a really small town population in all the places."

"You thinking vampire kills Buffy?"

"Ah no but now that you mention it but then again we have no proof. We are all just guessing here."

"Oh, the pamphlet only displays eight places for rent and sale."

"Any of the places look any good Kennedy?" asked Buffy.

"Just this one place," she said handing the pamphlet over to Buffy placing her finger on the house. "It has character. I like it."

Xander leant in. "Looks alright. But Buffy, did you look at the price, we don't have that kind of money, in fact we don't have much at all."

"I can dream right?"

"Dreaming is allowed."

"Good," replied Buffy smiling at Xander.

At the moment the Scooby School Bus was passing through a small quiet town and had stopped at an intersection. Buffy got out of her seat and went over to Xander and gave him a hug. "You know I love you, you know."

"I love you too Buffy."

Then all of a sudden Willow got up and went over to hug them. "I love you guys."

In unison Xander and Buffy said, "We love you Willow."

The three of them were standing up right now hugging one another and the bus started to move because the traffic light was green and they came tumbling down on the ground into the isle of the bus and they burst out with laughter and so did some of the Slayers surrounding them plus Dawn and her friend Belle. Same with this sentence. Too many and they, and they, and they… Turn it into a couple of sentences. Naomi pretended not to care and Julie and Sarah copied her.

Buffy sat on the floor of the bus smiling and giggling with her two friends and a tear came out of the corner of her right eye. Even though she seemed to be dealing better and having good times with her best friends, she still found it hard to move on without Spike. The further the bus drove away from Sunnydale the harder it was getting. She felt like she was leaving him behind and she didn't want to do that but it was her only choice.

When the bus stopped once again Giles turned his head around to see what had happened. He let out a chuckle and the three of them looked at him and they laughed as they managed to get back up on their feet to sit back down in their seats.

Faith had slept all through this while Robin saw everything and laughed at how clumsy the three of them had looked. Robin looked down at Faith in her same outfit from the day before. It still looked dirty from the fight at the high school but Robin thought to himself she still seemed to look good in the clothes even if they were dirty, she looked good in anything. Robin lifted up his other hand to brush the hair of her small fringe out of her face and she started to twitch. Robin pulled his hand back.

By now the bus had grown noisy again from everyone talking about their own thing. Robin went to move her hair out of her face and he got the same reaction from Faith and then she decided to just take over more room on the seat so Robin was now pressed up against the side of the bus. It was actually a funny sight to anyone but Wood. Then it clicked. Wood thought she could be faking this all but then he wasn't sure so he tried to move the hair out of her face again. She twitched once again and then went to grab at Robin's shirt. He grabbed her hand and that "woke" her up.

Faith sat up and with her right hand she grabbed her hand that hurt. "What'd you do that for?"

"Huh?"

"Grab my hand like that."

"I didn't even grab it hard Faith," replied Robin trying to put his arm around Faith but she moved slightly apart concentrating on her hand. Robin had no idea what was going on until Faith explained.

"That doesn't matter. Man you grabbed the hand I cut open at the Hellmouth and ironically it hurts like hell now."

"Oh, I'm sorry Faith I didn't know."

"Well now you do," she said in a nicer tone and moved back to her sort of original spot to be closer to Robin and he put his arm around her.

"So were you really sleeping then Faith right at the end?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Cause I kept trying to brush the hair out of your face and you kept twitching about and then the last time I tried you went to grab my shirt and then that's when I grabbed your hand."

"Oh, well that's weird. I hope I'm not always like that when I sleep. Oh well. But that explains why you grabbed my sore hand."

"But doesn't explain why you grabbed my shirt."

"I can think of reasons why if you like," commented Faith with a grin.

"Someone seems wide awake now and not in a bad mood."

"When was I in a bad mood?"

"When I accidently grabbed your hand or did you just loose your memory?"

"Oh yeah that. I remember."

By using his arm around Faith he pulled her into his chest and kissed her on the cheek and as he pulled away she shook her face. "What too early for kisses or something like that?"

"No."

"Then what was that about? Was it some weird Faith law?"

"Faith law?"

"Yeah you have a way of living and rules of life or so I've heard," said Robin rolling his eyes.

"Someone fill in the blanks about my past for me?"

"Well you did the other night and before back in Sunnydale. But Buffy and Giles told me some stuff earlier on."

"Hmm. Oh really? What they'd say?"

"Like I'm going to tell. It was secret stuff."

Faith was squirming in her seat now. "Tell me."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Faith thought about it. "Nah. Seriously. What's in the past is gone but I'll get you to tell me some stuff later on maybe. But for now just leave it."

Then Robin burst out with, "Five by five."

"Hey! That's my saying."

"Five by five."

"Stop saying it. You're saying it all wrong."

Wood raised his eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yes."

"Well I'll make a deal. I'll stop saying it if you tell me what it means."

"Oh no way. No blackmail."

"Blackmail?"

"I see this as blackmail."

"I'm wicked cool. Five by five."

"Oh god, man stop. You sound like a try hard," said Faith laughing as hard as she could. "You're going to ruin it. If you don't stop, your bed is going to be cold tonight," said Faith with a sly grin.

"Oh and next you'll say you don't believe in blackmail." Robin paused for a moment to think over what Faith said. "Nah uh. You won't do that. You haven't detached from me since we left damn Sunnydale, you can't trick me."

"Detached?"

"Yeah you clinged onto me like a monkey and it's banana tree."

"Okay I won't take the monkey reference personally this once but in this scenario I'm a monkey and you're a tree. Just one question. Are you okay? Are you high on something?"

"No I'm not but thanks for asking."

"Hey! I'm not clingy. Never been a clingy kind."

Robin coughed, "Till now."

"Heard that. Slayer powers and all."

"Crap."

Faith smiled. "I bet you can't spend a night without me."

"Do you seriously want to bet on this?"

"Not with cash Robin, like just to see if we can last without spending time together."

"Meaning every waking moment."

"Don't talk about me like that. It's not nice."

"Okay miss... hey what is your last name?"

"Ah ah. Not going to get that one out of me either."

"You're stubborn."

"Extremely."

"Look at those two," said Naomi. "It's so sickening."

"You know she killed people and he knows that. How could a man be that close to a killer," continued Naomi. "She acts like she's good and pure. She was bad, is bad. She broke out of jail you know. And now she's here pretending to do good and look at her with him. It's just wrong. She should be back in prison where she belongs."

Julie and Sarah just nodded their heads and agreed and listed to their ring leader, Naomi.

"I can't stand it," said Naomi turning around and facing towards Sarah sitting next to her. "So what are your thoughts on this?"

"Thoughts on this? Umm," replied Sarah starting to stumble on her words because she didn't know what to say that might sound cool.

An hour later they had entered Cherster and everyone had piled out of the bus onto the side of the road. They were at the town centre.

Buffy walked along the street until she found a pay phone. She had a number to contact Andrew on, his pager.

Andrew was standing in the foyer of the Hyperion Hotel looking around the room when his pager went off and he knew it must be Buffy. He got out his tracking device, attached it to the pager to trace the call. He traced the number which was for a pay phone and the pay phone rung. Luckily no one from town had seen or heard the pay phone just ring on its own.

"Hey Buffy. I see you have made it to the next main town."

"Hello Andrew. So we have. We are in a town called Cherster. I think it's going to end up being the town we settle down in."

"Awesome. Hometown Cherster."

Buffy smiled but of course Andrew didn't know.

Andrew leaned against the hotel reception desk.

"So you've made it to the Hyperion then?"

"Yes, yes I have Buffy."

"So is Angel and everyone there?"

"Actually no."

"Huh?"

"Oh they signed some deal with a law company. Wolf and Hert."

"Wolfram and Hart."

"Ah that's it. At the moment they are moving their stuff into their brand new apartments and offices so they haven't been around the Hyperion much. They said I could stay here for these next few days."

"Oh okay. Do you know anything else about this deal with Wolfram and Hart?"

"No they didn't tell me much"

"Alright. Well if you speak to Angel or to anyone else for that matter tell them I called. When I get a mobile phone I'll page you okay. Otherwise if I page sooner it will in emergency and I hope that won't be the case."

"Okay got it all. I have to go now Buffy. Nice hearing from you."

"Okay Andrew. Bye."

_The night before._

Andrew rode his motorbike down the street the Hyperion existed on and parked his bike outside the large building. He walked inside holding his helmet. His hair had now formed a different shape. It was helmet hair shape. Andrew pushed open the glass doors and walked down the steps into the foyer and thought he saw some movement in the dull lit foyer.

"Hello? Hello? Anybody there? Is there a Fred there?"

A man walked out of an office holding a box of junk. "Hey man. We're closing up place here for a few days so if you need any help you can contact us now at the law firm Wolfram and Hart." Gunn pulled a business card out of his jean pocket. "This is my only card but you can have it. But if you're in urgent need of help I'm sure Angel and the rest of us can lead a hand. Oh by the way my name's Gunn, Charles Gunn."

Andrew shook Gunn's hand in a manly way. "Ah is Fred here?" asked Andrew now knowing the man who had been talking to him wasn't who he had talked to on the phone.

"Oh so your not a client?"

Andrew looked puzzled. He didn't really know what Angel and his mates got up to in Los Angeles, he didn't know anything about them.

"You don't need any help of the unusual kind? Don't be afraid to ask."

"Fred works here?"

"Oh Fred's out back. I'll go get her and tell her someone's to see her.

Andrew thought this over and mumbled softly to himself, "I guess Fred is a girl."

Gunn didn't come back but instead Fred did. "Hey... who are you? I'm Winifred."

"Oh I'm Andrew, sorry."

"Do I know you?"

"No not exactly. I spoke to you once on the phone."

Fred kept listening.

"You called up to speak to Willow about something."

"Oh, Willow Rosenberg from Sunnydale?"

"Yes, that's right. I answered the phone."

"Oh so you're from Sunnydale too then. What you doing here? I thought Angel said there was a battle on there? Well that's what I last heard."

"Yeah. It's over now. Sunnydale's no more. All a big hole. It collapsed and us who survived the fight barely made it out."

"It collapsed?"

"Yeah. Quite amazing."

"So big bad First defeated?"

"Yep. Buffy and the Slayers defeated it and its minions."

"Slayers?"

"It was part of the plan. Buffy got Willow to use the scythe and draw out its essence and made any potential have the power of the Slayer so now they all share the power. Oh I think I wasn't meant to tell you all that much."

"Oh it's my fault. I find all this stuff so interesting. It's not really my field, I'm more into the sciences. This is Wesley's kind of stuff but it fascinates me. Do you want me to get Angel?"

"Yes that would be great."

Not too soon after Angel appeared and Andrew explained who he was and why he was there. To let Angel know the battle went as well as it could and that the survivors are on the move including Buffy to a new hometown along the coast which was not too far away from their last hometown. He informed Angel that Sunnydale wasn't on the map anymore.

"Well at the moment we are in the middle of moving offices so to speak and since you're a friend of Buffy's…"

"Well I'm not exactly…"

"No, you can stay here for a few days before you head back to find Buffy and the rest. Do you have a number I can contact Buffy on?"

"Not yet. They have no phones."

"Oh, okay well when you do have a way for me to contact her, inform me. I'll be coming back here later so if you have any questions, you can ask me then."

"Alright. Thanks Angel."

_Present_

Buffy thought to herself as she sat down on the green street seat. Giles came walking over. "Is there a problem Buffy?"

"Well actually I'm not sure," she said as she turned to Giles.

"What do you mean?"

"I spoke to Andrew and he seemed fine from his mission which is good but he mentioned something about Angel and the gang signing some deal with Wolfram and Hart."

"The evil law firm?"

"Yeah. It just doesn't sound like something Angel would do or his friends. Something doesn't seem right."

"You sure? Maybe if you get to talk to Angel about it it will make more sense maybe."

"So are you okay from the other night? You seemed a little… well, not right. Did I come in at a bad time or something? Was it something I said?"

"No, no of course not Buffy. I had just been doing some research and I had just been thinking about what I had read. Nothing to be concerned about."

"Okay then but if anything comes up tell me okay." Buffy got up from the street bench and walked over to the rest of them sitting on the edge of the street in one large clump talking.

A few days later, everyone managed to find coins and notes on the bus, in clothes, in odd places and just in their pockets and wallets and joined their money together so they could buy a mobile phone as their way to contact the world. They were now broke of course but where they were all staying at was a large property a few miles from town and everyone had jobs to do on the farm to earn their meals. And a place to sleep. At some stage they all knew someone would find a job in the local newspaper or at the town centre on the notice board and this living and work arrangement would only last for a few more days at the most and then they would actually be able to pay for motel accommodation at least.

From Andrew Buffy had gotten Angel's new office number and she was scared to ring it up. It was up to Buffy to make the call.

Sitting in her small bedroom on the farm, she picked up the mobile and dialed the number she had in her hand written on a piece of paper. "Um hi. This is Buffy Summers speaking is Mr… Is Angel there?" said Buffy as she started to relax her tone.

There was a silence.

Buffy waited on the other line for an answer or something.

"Hello Buffy."

"Angel! You don't know how good it is to hear your voice. I didn't know if I would make it through the battle but I did. I just did."

"Buffy. I had the second front ready and everything and then it hit me. I realised that you didn't need a second front. Somewhere deep down inside you knew it too. You knew you'd win and you did. I'm proud of you Buffy but I still wish you had let me fight that fight."

"Well there's nothing you can do about it now."

"True. So where are you calling from?"

"Oh I'm now in a town called Cherster. You heard of it?"

"No, I don't think I have."

"It's not a big place on the map."

"So where are you staying? You know you could have always travelled up this way like Andrew did and stay here?"

"I didn't want to invade your town with a group of new Slayers."

"We could have put them to use somehow."

"It's just it's so complicated with our town thing. You know whose town is who. Well my town collapsed so beat that. Now I got a brand new one. I hope this one goes better than the last."

Angel smiled and laughed. "I heard about Sunnydale collapsing from Andrew. God he's a, he's different. He's your friend?"

"Wouldn't exactly say that."

"He asked me for tips on redemption today."

"Oh my god. Really?"

"Yes."

"What did you say?"

"I didn't have time to talk so I quickly jotted down some points for him to read. He hasn't taken his eyes off the same piece of paper since. So where you staying again?"

"Well at the moment we are working on trying to find jobs so we can stay at a proper motel. We spent all our money on this phone I'm talking on. We are staying at a farm and doing jobs there for the place to stay and food for now."

"Oh alright then. I can help you with that situation. But wait, how did Andrew get the money for that bike?"

"Don't say anything about it to him but he rented it out. It isn't his bike so to speak but he likes to thinks he owns it."

"How would you like it if I bought you a place to stay in? Live in?"

"Angel, you couldn't. How could I repay you?"

"This isn't about borrowing. It would be a gift."

"A gift for what?"

"Do you have to ask so many questions?"

"Always."

There was another silence.

Flashback occurred to both them. Think 1999.

_At Angels mansion Buffy and Angel are talking over the Faith siutation that happened earlier on. "I never wanted it to go that far." _

"_I know that. It's not even a question of that. It's just, after ... I need a little bit of a break. Please." Buffy then starts to turn and walk away. _

"_You still my girl?" _

"_Always," replies Buffy who then leaves._

Angel broke the silence, "Just think of it as a gift okay. Got any place in mind?"

"Ah as a matter of fact yes. I don't know how big it will be though. Like how many rooms. Can I get back to you on that tomorrow?"

"Of course you can. So how you holding up?"

"What? What did the little squirt Andrew say?"

"Buffy he didn't say what you think he said. I can tell by the way you speak. I knew you very well for years remember? I can sense what happened. Spike and I well, that's a complicated thing but with all the disagreements and hatred we had a connection, we could have been really good friends. I've never sensed something like that before Buffy. I don't mind if you talk about him. I may not know what or how but you can just talk. I'll be here listening."

Buffy began to speak and the words kept following as did the tears.


	4. The Choice

Chapter four – The Choice

"Now that we've been here for a little while, you've all had a chance to get the know Cherster a little bit it's time to make another choice, whether you want to stay in Cherster, travel somewhere else be it back to where you came from, your hometown or wherever. I gave you a choice to have the power and to be a Slayer and you've gotten this far and survived and now another choice is before you. Thanks to an old friend of mine who works and runs the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram and Hart law firm now, he has donated enough money for all eighteen of us to survive off for food, housing, all the essentials and there is enough money to be shared out equally which will last for the next two and half months which gives you time to get a job and all. We, I can keep you here over your free will, this is your choice not mine. Whether you decide to carry on being a Slayer and the duty it holds that is up to you. It is part of you now though, don't forget that. I know some of you will most definitely be leaving Cherster soon and if you do please just inform me so I know and remember, they are now tons of other girls like you out there with the same power like you and me. They will feel helpless with their new power. They won't understand, how or why. If you run into one of these girls, try and help and guide them like you were. In the long run it will turn out for the better. The more of us out there protecting the world, we can do good, don't forget that. That is all I have to say. Good luck, take care, remember at any time you can contact us for help or to update us on any evil going ons. Will most likely be just here living in Cherster now, so if you do decide to come back to visit we would love that I'm sure. So now you can line up in front of Willow, Xander and Giles to pick up your money packets according to the coloured pieces of paper you got given. Thanks for being part of everything, I mean that. It has been hard but we made it."

Buffy then walked away, down the path of her new home. She looked up at the house as she walked. She thought to herself that she could get used to this. Brand new house, pretty street, no evil, yet and she was with her friends and everyone seemed generally happy. New Slayers weren't hating her, they started being nicer recently and Buffy wasn't surprised, she knew it would take a while for them to get used to the whole deal and in time they would get used to her. Buffy even thought that perhaps some would stay in the town with her and the Scoobies, well at least for a little while longer.

The new house that Angel had paid for was big enough for Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Kennedy.

Giles bought his own small house a few streets away, which was in a quiet street, lots of plants and trees everyone and friendly neighbours and Rupert got along with his two neighbours next to him, Kyle Pulmar and Mrs. Judy Henning.

Xander was stuck with sharing an apartment with Andrew but secretly he didn't mind that much, they did share a few things in common and Faith and Robin shared an apartment in the same block of units as Andrew and Xander. The block of units was only about a street away from where the rest were living.

Robin thought at first Faith would reject the idea of them sharing an apartment since she didn't like admitting she liked spending time with him basically 24/7 but she said yes straight away which kind of surprised him. On the other hand Faith didn't exactly want to say to anyone that Robin was her _boyfriend _even though she did like him. With Robin he wanted to call Faith his girlfriend but sometimes the way she acted he wasn't sure what to call her, she was definitely different to other girls, but in good ways, in ways that made him like Faith even more at time to time.

Buffy had managed to get herself a job at a local small cafe shop. She had done some waitressing in the past and felt comfortable with this type of job. Buffy had no thought of going back to the fast food industry. That was a job she would never miss.

Robin had applied for a job as a High School teacher and was waiting for a reply. He didn't want to go back to being a principal or even trying, he had had enough after Sunnydale.

Xander and Andrew had accidentally gone for the same job in the small town of Cherster at a comic book store without even knowing it until they both turned up for the first day of their job and found out then. They had only been working there for about a week and half so far.

Willow had some courses at college to finish off and Kennedy had a brand new year of college ahead of her but first she wanted to get a job and her first job in Cherster was at a book store on the main street.

Faith had gotten herself a job without anyone knowing it. She was embarrassed enough that she had a job let alone tell them what it was. Everyone had told her she should go for the position at the local dance club as bartender or the job position at PunK which was a clothes store but Faith always replied maybe, I'll look into it even after she had her new job for a total of nearly a whole month. She was one of the first people out of the eighteen survivors that who had stayed in Cherster to actually get a job but no one had known or found out amazingly. Why was Faith embarrassed about her job? She was a secretary and the thing was, she was good at it. She had found something she was good at and stuck at it. She never knew if you was good at that sort of thing and then she walked in for the interview, passed that and her first trial on the job went fine. The office she worked for did a lot of filing, reports, interviews and questionnaires. The company was called Henry's, and was connected to some other company or someone else who was big but Faith didn't know who it was and didn't really care, she didn't think that information was important.

Dawn wanted to get a job, she actually wanted to help Giles find any surviving Watchers from the Council out in Europe and all over the world but both Giles and Buffy said no and said she should stick to her original plan before hearing Giles's and head in the direction of college. Dawn really did like doing the research work back in Sunnydale for the Scooby gang and they knew this too. Dawn never really thought about becoming a Watcher because she wasn't sure if Giles and Buffy were going to contact them all and Wesley to form like a new and improved council or not. The two of them never spoke openly about it and if they did discuss it, Dawn thought it must have not been done openly or to anyone else for that matter. But Dawn had to concentrate on her school studies anyways, she still had the last year and a bit of high school to complete.

Surprisingly a few new Slayers did stay in Cherster for the next month after Buffy made the announcement about their choice and the money situation for everyone. Only three survivors from Sunnydale left Cherster, either it was because they had other plans most likely in life or they were leaving to forget the weight that was on their shoulders of Slayerhood.


	5. Occupation

Chapter five- Occupation

The three Slayers left town to move on with their lives somewhere else, and the rest were left to start fresh in the town of Cherster. Everything was running smoothly to speak. Jobs on track, money coming in for some, education being completed or getting started and living arrangements were going fine.

The first official catch up since they had started to settle down in Cherster was approaching and was going to be held at Buffy's house next Saturday. It was going to be a lunch for all to relax and talk. No news of any evil entering their new life had come up and after the lunch event occurred, Buffy was going to plan a Slayers meeting for what they were going to do, or what they wanted to do. Did they want more training and knowledge? Things like that.

There were three graveyards in total in Cherster. In the North, South and East of the town.

At least for the first two weeks in the town Buffy was obsessed with getting the newspaper everyday checking for any 'unexplained' death reports and accidents. She was thinking it as all too much, survive a battle in the Hellmouth, pass on the power and now attempt a 'normal' life without anything or anyone getting in the way, she thought there must be an evil arising somewhere, somewhere close to Cherster or in it but there were no signs at all of anything like this and finally she took everyone's advice that she listened to and only checked the 'unexplained' deaths and the numbers of deaths columns and sections once a week and not everyday.

Robin got the job as the high school English teacher at Cherster High and had started teaching straight away so he always seemed busy marking english papers and essays on the weekends and in his free time these days. Now because of this, Robin didn't notice Faith leaving the apartment of a day either to go to work. Before Robin got a letter and a phone call back saying he got the job, Faith would nick off early in the morning before he could ask where she was going and never really got the chance to ask her, even later in the day. She would somehow use the skills she had to turn the conversation around and Robin still wounded what she got up to during the day but he knew it was nothing serious. So now with his knew job he didn't even think about the Faith leaving the apartment at all during the day for some unknown reason. Of course Faith was happy for Wood for getting the job that he actually wanted and that he really liked the students he taught but because of the hours he worked at school she had to be even more careful about getting home in time before Wood did so he wouldn't get suspicious of where she was. She didn't want to be one of those girlfriends or girls, who lied and made up excuses all the times to their boyfriends but the fact was she had already lied and made up excuses before he got the job position. Faith not only was still covering her job from Robin but everyone else it was going to be only a matter of time before someone found out.

"Faith? Are you there?"

"Yeah? What? I'm in the kitchen," said Faith lying, she was really heading out for the door. She was trying to make a dash for the door without being caught.

"Is my tie and boots out in the lounge room?"

"Which tie?" she asked with a slight sigh.

"The red one. You know the one I got last week."

"No it isn't. I think you left it in the bedroom."

"Oh yep. Here it is. Thanks," said Robin who started to walking from the bedroom, down the hallway towards the lounge room which was connected to the kitchen.

Faith looked at the hallway, then at the front door, there's no way she was escaping this minute.

Faith saw him walk into the lounge room and walked towards him and placed her bag behind the coat rack.

She walked up to him while he was trying to tie up his tie. He stopped walking in the middle of the room and smiled at Faith and then looked down at the tie. Then Faith grabbed the tie and did it up for him.

"There you go."

"I could have done it you know."

"I know," she said with a smile and went to sit down on a chair.

"How come your dressed like that?"

"Like what?"

He sat down on the couch near by and went to put his shoes on.

"You know, nice coat, oh and are those high heels?"

"No," she said sharply, trying to hide them.

"You can't hide them Faith."

Faith tried to look innocent, didn't work, this time.

"Okay okay. Big deal. I'm wearing high heels."

"So what's the occasion?" said Robin sounding excited.

"Oh I'm going to meet someone for lunch," said Faith without thinking about that too much.

"At this time? It's pretty early."

"Yeah well it turns out where I'm meeting them is a little far to travel, have to catch a train so I thought I'd leave early, make sure I get there on time."

Right now Faith was sounding guilty, like she was hiding something and she was.

Robin got up and walked into the kitchen to get some cereal.

"So who you meeting up with?"

Faith blurted out with,"What's with all the questions?"

Faith then looked embarrassed and then turned all quiet.

Robin noticed her behaviour and went back to pouring milk over his cereal.

Robin then went to sit down at their dining table.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," said Robin rather dryly.

Faith got up from her chair and noticed from where she was standing and Robin was sitting, they could both see the work bag Faith had tried to hide.

"No, I'm sorry Wood. I shouldn't have acted like that. It's just I have something on my mind."

Robin turned around to face her in his chair.

"Would you like to talk about it with me?"

"Not right this minute but maybe tonight," replied Faith as she walked closer to him.

"Well whatever it is I don't want it to distract you today. I want you to have a good time. You deserve it."

Robin got up from his chair.

Faith came a bit closer and then automatically rested her head on his shoulder.

"You sure you are okay?"

Faith looked up at him but still had her head on his shoulder.

"I'll be okay for ..lunch."

Faith had to force out that last word. Lying to Robin really got to her lately. She felt it was wrong and dirty. It was because it was wrong but also because she had a place for him in her heart even if she didn't admit it out loud, it was the truth.

They had a small hug and then they kissed each other on the lips.

Faith pulled out from the kiss and stood back looking at Robin.

"Well I should go get ready for work and prepare for my first english lesson for the day."

Robin then walked off back into the bedroom.

Faith stood there silently for a second and totally lost. She didn't know if her mind was playing tricks on her or what. She didn't know what was up with Robin. That got pushed to the back of her mind when she looked at the clock in the kitchen and realised she was going to be late for work. She rushed to the door as quick as she could, opened it and then turned around and called out, "I'm going now! Robin?"

"Yeah Faith?"

"I love you. You know that?"

A small smile formed on Wood's face and in a happy sounding voice he said, "Have a great day sweetie." It was in fact the first time she had actually said the love word and it was without any hesitation.

Wood slowly came out of the bedroom, down the hallway into the main living area as Faith was preparing herself mentally for work, she bent over, picked up her suitcase, not noticing Robin watching from a far as she picked up some bag, and walked out the door.

Today Giles and Buffy had planned a meeting at her work, Cuppa Tea, which was actually like a little cafe, with tea, coffee, cakes, pastry foods, sweet and savory foods. Giles was coming in just before lunch which was when Buffy had her twenty minute break.

Buffy was cleaning down some of the tables in one of the corners when she noticed Giles walk in and she smiled but she still had five minutes till her break and went over to see if he would like anything to order.

"Hey Giles."

"Hello Buffy. How has your day been so far?"

"Tiring," she said with a sigh and placed her hand on her hand, "but it's okay."

"Have I come a bit early?"

"Yeah but only five minutes. Would you like to eat or drink anything in the next five minutes? Because that is when my break starts."

"Oh, okay I'm just some tea, thanks."

Buffy smiled and went off to make some tea.

When she was behind the counter she noticed the new guy Jayden trying to serve a customer, he was actually doing a pretty good job. Like Jayden, the rest of the staff at Cuppa Tea were rather nice and pleasant to work with and that's part of why Buffy actually liked going to work each day.

Buffy came back to Giles's table and placed the cup and saucer down in front of him and sat down in the opposite seat across from him.

"Is it your break time already?"

"You sound disappointed," said Buffy jokingly

"Of course I'm not, why would I have come in the first place then?"  
"Because your stupid."

"Possibly."

"Okay so we got twenty minutes, shoot."

"Through any connections that I have left with the council,"

"You mean Watchers?"

"Yes. In the Europe district there are at least six to be counted of or have been sighted. It appears even in the very few that survived the explosion or where they were on the day, some have chosen to not stay on as active Watchers meaning they are in hiding and want to have nothing to do with the job in the future and know nothing about what has happened. I plan to go visit and track done the names we do know of and find out what they know and want to do. I have Willow currently looking up some of the names I have already found to find out their exact location for now. As soon as we get at least three reliable locations I will have to head out straight away. Some may be on the move."

"So will this all lead to a new council be constructed? Or are we like resurrecting the old one?"

"No resurrecting, we don't want one like the last one. Do you?"

Buffy laughed, "I think you already know that answer Giles."

He smiled, "The possibility of a new council at the moment seems grim. Not many Slayers that we know of have come forward, well none and we only have the ones that survived and Watchers well, like I said we only have a few names and it all depends on what these people actually want to do. We can't force people to do this."

"No like the last council."

"I guess so but it is different this time. Not only because of what has happened over the years and the council being blown up and the first but we gave them the power Buffy all at once. They weren't picked generation by generation, all at once, we don't rely on one Buffy,"

"We don't rely on me," she added.

"There are tons out there, but we need to know if there willing to help just like the Watchers that still exist, are they willing to help."

"So that is what we have to wait to find out before final conversations about a new council?"

"Yes."

"So where abouts do you think you'll be going to in Europe?"

"Well even if the names don't get located to England I am going there first off because it was the home of the original council and i just might be able to find some clues there."

"So any big bag news?"

"No which is scaring me a little. Over the years if there isn't evil, something big is coming. The silence of no evil means something will come soon but will we be prepared is the question."

"You don't think the First will find a way to come back?"

"No Buffy, there is no way. After what happened in Sunnydale, all the destruction in the Hellmouth with the Turok-Hans."

"Just making sure," replied Buffy with a nod and she then glanced over to behind the counter and Jayden was starring at her and then quickly turned around and Buffy just smiled and turn back to face Giles.

"What is his name?"

"Huh?" asked Buffy sounding confused.

"The man behind the counter."

"Oh. Oh, he's, his name is Jayden. He is one of the new members of the staff here."

"Interesting."

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing."

"Okay if you insist Rupert."

Giles nearly choked on his tea, "I thought you stopped calling my that ages ago and only ever when you needed my attention."

"Well I thought I'd use it today. You don't mind do you?"

"I think I'm just used to Giles."

"Well I'm just going to grab myself something to eat and we can continue talking after."

"Okay Buffy."

Buffy walked up to the counter and got herself a muffin.

"Hey Jayden."

The boy got the shock of his life.

"Oh hey Buffy. Enjoying your break?"

"Yes I am. Thanks for asking."

"Not to sound rude or like I'm invading your life but, whose the person you've been talking to?"

"Oh he's..,well Giles is like the father I never had except I had a father and my mum and dad got divorced and Giles, Giles was like a family friend and always there for me when i needed a father figure and oh, you never meant to invade my life but hey I just babbled on about myself, I feel so stupid."

"It's okay Buffy. Next time it's my turn to make myself look stupid."

"Deal," replied Buffy as she smiled and walked off to sit back down with Giles.

"Do you really have to go?"

"Yes, yes I have to go. It's called getting an education. I need to go so my life means something."

"Kennedy your life does mean something already."

"You know what I mean."

"But this research is boring without you."

"I heard from a certain someone you used to love research and computers, oh and science."

"Well I guess it's true, hey are you getting your information from Xander?"

"Maybe," replied Kennedy with an innocent smile.

"Anyways," began Willow shaking her head, "I know I did and do love those things.."

"And me."

"Yes and you but I'm tired of it at this moment."

"Then why don't you come with me?"

"Well I don't have the same classes. My classes don't start till two."

"Well just hand around campus. I can't please you can I? Your being very stubborn today."

"I guess I could come. Giles wouldn't mind it i quit research early. Okay I'm going with you."

"Awesome. Grab ya coat then we're off."

"Andrew, when do you finish your shift today?"

"Andrew?"

"Oh, um five."

"See I told you he goes off into his own little world when he wants to, why did you hire him, honestly Josh?"

"He has potential plus he knows about the characters in the comics like you, that's why he basically got the job."

"Interesting."

"Plus I felt sorry for you mate."

"Good to know, good to know," replied Xander patting Josh on the back."

"So what do you guys say then, want to hit the club tonight for a guys night out?"

"I'm in."

"Good to hear Xander, Andrew?"

"Yep, definitely up to some clubbing. Do you think there will be any nice girls there?"

"Andrew."

"What?"

"Nice girls don't go to clubs."

"What nice girls are you talking about Josh?"

"Xander, I mean the nice ones that are polite, sometimes stuck up, smart and sometimes the nice ones are pretty good looking."

"What are you bloody talking about Josh? You have no idea what your talking about."

"No I really don't."

"Glad you admitted that," said Andrew, "Oh have you seen the new Spider Man comic, great graphics if you ask me."

"Andrew, customer."

Andrew turned around and a customer was standing right in front of him holding the latest Spider Man comic.

"Hi, my name is Andrew, how may I help you?"

"How many copies do you have?"

"Oh this one, oh lots, how many were you interested in buying?"

"Four."

"Cool. It's good one. The comic. Great great graphics. Shawn Hink did the drawings. He also did the drawings in the issue before this one as well."

"Really? I never knew that."

"Yeah It was written in really small writing. Too bad for Shawn, not many people would have seen it, I had to get out my magnifying glass to look at it properly."

"You used a magnifying glass to read it?"

"Yeah," replied Andrew with a nod.


	6. Lunch and a Half

Chapter six – Lunch and a Half

Saturday had come around rather fast . It was about an hour before everyone was supposed to arrive and Buffy was running around the house in a hectic manner. She wanted the place to look nice and bought some flowers to put in her vases and had been vacuuming all morning since nine. It was now approaching eleven and the house wasn't that big. Willow and Dawn were assigned kitchen duty with no real choice but they didn't mind. Dawn kept asking if she could create her own meals and when Buffy was around Willow would say no but once she left Willow gave Dawn the go ahead to make whatever she liked. Willow was making pancakes and Dawn made healthy snacks and sandwiches.

Kennedy was assigned the duty to set up the backyard table which was supposed to fit them and the guests all around it comfortably everyone else wasn't sure about the comfortable bit. Kennedy was setting up the plates and cutlery when Buffy stormed out into the backyard.

"No! No! No! You're doing it all wrong. Like this," said Buffy showing her the way she wanted it.

"How could you see from there? And don't give me it's because I'm a Slayer doesn't work on me."

"I've been watching you."

"Stop being creepy. I only just started to like you."

"You have?"

"Don't get too happy about it, my mind may change."

"Oh," replied Buffy as she walked back into the house to set up cushions on the chairs properly.

Willow heard Buffy come in the back door, "Buffy,"

"Yeah?" she replied as she walked towards he kitchen.

"You don't have to do any more cleaning, the place looks fine."

"I know well I just want everything to look good."

"It does trust me. Anyways theres no need to dress the place up to impress."

"I'm not."

Buffy walked into the kitchen.

"Oh I know what's going on."

"Huh?" Buffy and Dawn said in unison.

"You told us all we could invite any 'friends' that we had met so far and you invited someone, didn't you?"

Buffy's face remained blank.

"Buffy? Did you make a new friend?" asked Dawn.

"Even if I did, what's the big deal?"asked Buffy as she walked out of the kitchen towards her bedroom upstairs."

"What's wrong with her Willow?"

"I was about to ask you."

Willow used a spatula to get the pancakes out of the two frying pans and Dawn continued making her funny shaped snacks in silence.

The front door was ajar an inch or two and Xander pushed it open slightly a bit more, "Hello? Anyone there? Buffy?"

Buffy came rushing to the door, "Hey Xander," she said as she went to hug him and he got a shock and then hugged her back. Buffy pulled out of the hug.

"Your early."

"Yes I seem to be, it's okay right?"

"Yeah. Andrew with you?"

"Nope," said Xander as he stepped aside and no one else could be seen.

"Want to help the girls in the kitchen?"

"Depends who they are."

"Hey!" cried both Willow and Dawn at the same time.

Xander walked into the kitchen, "I'd never pass up the chance to help you two girls. What do you want me to do?"

"No cutting," said Willow.

"Huh?"

"Not with that eye. Maybe.."

"He can butter the bread. That isn't considered dangerous?"

"Not to me."

"Good then It's settled I can butter bread safely."

Buffy watched on unnoticed and smiled at them. Everything at the moment seemed to be going fine not just for today's event but in general terms as well.

By eleven forty-five all the sandwiches , healthy snack creations made by Dawn and Willow's secret pancake meal were made and ready to be served. Buffy had checked Kennedy's job of the setting up of the table and gave her the thumbs up and Kennedy was glad with her comment.

Kennedy came in and sat down on the couch. Willow walked on over.

"You too hey. Buffy been working you hard?"

"Uh huh but I can take it I guess, Slayer strength and what not."

"You gonna try on of my pancakes?"

"Of course I am. First thing I try , I promise."

"Good. Can I have that in writing?"

"If it pleases you. I'd do anything."

Willow pretended to get up, "Your not 'serious' are you?" asked Kennedy.

Willow turned around, "No", she said in a silly voice as she slouched back down suddenly into the couch and cuddled up next to Kennedy and they both continued talking.

Giles arrived not long after and Xander answered the door.

"Hey G-man."

"I thought I told you back in high school never to call me that ever again."

Xander stood there and thought for a moment, "You probably did come to think of it but it's a cool nickname. G-man."

"Xander, say that one more time and there's no chance of me ringing up my friend to try and get you that carpenter job."  
"Stupid blackmail," mumbled Xander as he walked off to find Buffy.

"And nice to see you too."

Giles stood there for a moment and started to look around the hallway and walked into the lounge room. He found new photos Buffy had tried taking in Brunty and the first few days here in Cherster hung up on the walls in photo frames and placed on a side table.

"Hey Giles."

"Oh hello Buffy."

"I see you brought food. Good choice."

"Why thank you."

Buffy took the packet of short bread biscuits of Giles and walked into the kitchen with them and Giles followed.

"You seem much better."

"So do you."

"Last few times I've seen you, you've been.."

"Not myself."

"Anything you need to share with me?"

"Nothing I know of."

"Anyone there?" asked Wood as he walked into the house which ad it's front door wide open.

"Oh hey man," replied Xander as he walked towards the front of the house down the hallway.

"Where's ya girl?"

"Oh Faith, she's coming later. Caught up with something."

Robin walked into the house further.

"Faith busy? Working?"

"No work. She said she'd be at the most fifteen minutes late. Had to go do some shopping or something like that."

"So you don't know where your girl is?" asked Xander as the both walked through the lounge room towards the backyard.

"Can you stop saying my girl. Anyways no not exactly. Does it matter?"

"Oh not to me. Just seeing how you are about it."

"I think we need to get you a girl."

"No me free girl man for now."

"Oh really. Weren't you talking to some girl the other night when we all went out to the club?"

"Oh her."

"Yes."

"Got me there."

"Sure did."

Xander and Robin now wandered into the backyard and sat down in two chairs opposite each other.

Andrew could be heard arguing with Willow and Giles about not being allowed to cook the meat. Buffy was yelling at them to be quiet which didn't help. Kennedy just sat aside watching the mess unfold until the door bell rang. She raced to the front of the house to find that the front door had slammed shut and a few of the girls had arrived.

"So what's really on your mind?" asked Xander.

"Nothing honestly."

"So your just waiting for her to come back?"

"Something like that."

"Are you having doubts you can't trust her?"

"Are you my counselor or something now?"

"No. Didn't mean to seem that way. I was just trying to be ya mate and talk to ya."

"You gotta work on that."

"I'm trying. So spill."

Wood looked around, no one was listening in.

"She's been weird lately."

"And? You have to give me more. Women are always weird."

"Hey!" yelled Buffy, Willow and Andrew in unison and the Andrew's face turned red and ran off in embarrassment.

"Well it's true," said Xander facing Willow and Buffy, "Anyways, it's just, think of it as a personality trait, comes with the package."

"I could be imagining things but things have been rather suspicious with her lately. I never started to notice until I got my position at the high school with is weird. She's been leaving early in the mornings some days. It's before I wake up most days and I think Faith thinks I don't know, that I'm a sleep when she gets up but I'm awake but she doesn't know. She goes out. Comes back dressed in clothes I've never seen in our wardrobe before puts clothes back on over the new outfit gets back into bed and then wakes up when I normally do later on but I don't know if it happens every day."

"Woah. That's a lot of info to take in. What sort of clothes?"

"Clothes Faith would never wear."

"They would be? There's a bit of list. Narrow it down for me."

"Well just normal pastel colours. Umm black skirts normally, shirts, long sleeves."  
"Work clothes?"

"Except Faith doesn't have a job."

"And your thinking the worst of she's hiding secrets of sort, of course this is the case, but your not thinking she's seeing someone else? Someone she has to dress to impress in another way. No. She wouldn't. But then the other doesn't make sense. Faith having a job? Faith having a job and dressing like that? No Faith job description fits that."

"I didn't want to think and believe that the truth was that she was seeing someone else but I can tell when she's scrambling for an excuse. Her speech is fine and not mumbled but her excuses are poor. That's something she needs to work on. Faith having a job, why wouldn't she tell me? I could help her with it or something."

"So because of all this you came to me for help without asking for help exactly. You two are perfect for each other. You and your sneakiness, lying, confusing habits and don't forget the weird ones too. And ya have a weird vibe about ya."

"Thanks."

"No problem dude."

"So what do I do?"

"Well hey I'm not full of answers and I bet she gets here anytime soon or someone is eves dropping on us and our plan will be ruined but.."

"Thanks for making me feel even better."

"No problemo. So here's what ya do, don't act weird around her, even if ya usually do or whatever, act normal like nothings happened, don't try and ask her questions too much about where she has been and don't go studying her face expressions too much to find the answers there ok. And we'll talk later."

"That's all?"

"That's all I can think of."

"Right. Thanks Xander for everything."

"It's okay Robin your my mate and that's what mates do, or something like that."

Robin laughed and then went and walked into the house.

Buffy automatically sat down in Robin's chair.

"So I glanced over your way a few times and you and Robin seemed to be getting along. You two mates now?"

Xander laughed, "I think we are. How many more to come?"

"Well Naomi, Sarah and Belle are here. Julie, Rona, Vi still have to come."

"Plus Faith."

"Plus Faith. Oh by the way, do you know why she is late? She said she was going to try and be here early."

Faith walked into the house since the door was unlocked and she was a little bit later than everyone else. The other Slayers had arrived and most people were sitting around the table out the back, squished, talking and nibbling on the snacks. Faith checked out the lounge room and saw some photos hanging up and looked at them closely. Wood walked down the hallway and heard someone in the lounge room. Faith turned around.

"Hey honey. Come looking for me?  
"I knew you were here. I have this connection where I can sense wherever you are."

"Oh god I hope not," said Faith laughing.

"Why? Got something to hide?"

"You wish," replied Faith laughing again as she walked over towards Robin.

"You seem to be in a good mood which is great to see."

"Yeah I am," said Faith with a smile and kissed Robin suddenly without any warning on the lips..

"What was that for?"

"Can't I kiss you without giving a reason? If you really have to know..."

"Yes," said Robin with a smile.

"It's coz I love ya," said Faith quickly in a childish sing song voice and raced off towards the backyard.

Willow and Giles were on barbecue duty and were the ones to serve up the meat onto plates. After everyone had their plates piled up with meat, bread rolls, salad, sandwiches and what not eating time commenced officially.

"So Buff, where this friend you made the house so pretty and clean for?"

"He couldn't, what friend?" she asked innocently.

"Oh that act stopped working on my ages ago Buffy. He couldn't come? His loss. Maybe he can come next time."

Buffy looked across at her friend with of course a friendly glare and kicked her leg under the table when Willow made a face back at her.

"Hey that hurt."

"You deserve it."

"Yeah I do, maybe."

"His name is Jayden."

"Oh was that the guy at the shop the other day when I can for lunch?" asked Giles.

"Hey stay out of this. Yes it was."

"Oh is he cute?" asked Willow looking towards Giles accidentally.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Um maybe nothing."

Kennedy laughed and said, "Good idea."

"Jayden? Jayden got a last name?"

"Don't know yet."

"Come on girl you have to investigate him and find out his nitty gritty details."

"I never used to do that and I'm glad I never did. I'd rather wait and find out the rest later."

"Fine be surprise girl."

"Willow don't be that way. You just want me to talk to you more about him so you can tease me."

Willow smiled, "Yeah, you know me too well."

"I know ya's too," added Xander.

Buffy and Willow smiled at Xander.

"We know ya too Xander," replied Buffy.

"It's so unfair," said Andrew pouting.

"What's so unfair?"

"They are cutting down my time I work at Comic Corner starting of next week and I don't even know why."

"Are you sure? I'm not an expert on jobs but aren't they supposed to tell you a reason for things like this?"

"They are supposed to give you reasons but what they told me wasn't a reason."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am Dawnie. Please just listen to me. They didn't say this to me but I think it's something to do with my personality."

"Why do you think that?"

"You look lovely,"

Faith blushed.

"No you do. You, I never seen you in a dress before."

"Yes you have," said Faith softly.

"Oh yes when we went out for dinner. Did you hire it or something haven't seen it since?"

"Don't tease me just because it's easy to."

"Hey you said it not me. But why not? At least it entertains me for a bit. Anyways this dress is different it's a casual one."

"Yeah. Hey what are you the dress expert now?"

"Well I'd probably know more about dresses than you since you don't wear them much. Is this your first time wearing a casual dress?"

"Robin!"

There was a pause. The cogs were turning over in Faith's head. Her memory bank was processing that very thing, a memory from the past.

"_And everything went smoothly with Mr. Wirth?"  
"Not if you're Mr. Wirth." _

_Wilkins giggles, "Well, that's swell. You know how I feel about loose ends. And the big day is so close, you can smell the excitement in the air. Say, are you ever coming out of there?"  
"I don't know."   
"Aw, come on."  
Faith enters, in a pink/white dress, barefoot.  
"Wow, aren't you a vision?"  
"I feel I look stupid in this."  
"You look lovely. Perfect for the Ascension. Any boys that manage to survive will be lining up to ask you out."   
"It just isn't me, though."  
"Not you? Let me tell you something. Nobody knows what you are. Not even you, little Miss Seen-it-all. The Ascension isn't just my day. It's yours too. Your day to blossom, to show the world what a powerful girl you are. I think of what you've done, what I know you will do (caresses her face) no father could be prouder. "  
"I hope I don't let you down."  
"Impossible. Now come on, change back into your street clothes. I'll buy you an icee." _

"Faith? Earth to Faith?"

Faith snapped out of it, "I'm here. Faith is here."

"Good to know. What happened just before?"

Faith felt a tear forming in her eye and she mumbled under her breath, "Stupid bloody memory."

She put her hand to her face in case the first tear came, Robin noticed.

Robin may not have heard what she said but he could tell something was up and before he got to ask she said, "Oh I just have to go to the bath room. Be right back," and she ran off into the house.

Faith walked into the bathroom and quickly locked the door behind her and looked into the mirror. The second tear was coming down her face. She searched in the cupboards for something to stop her eyeliner from running or something. She needed to come back out looking better than she did coming in. It's just the memory flashback came suddenly and got to her. The dress part was nothing, it was just thinking about Mayor Wilkins.

Faith came out of the bathroom hopefully looking better and Robin was waiting for her.

"You didn't look good before, do you want to talk?"

They kept walking then Faith stopped, trying to regather herself secretly.

"Do you want to sit down?"

Faith walked over to the couch and Robin sat next to her. He went to holds her hands and looked at her.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing really. Something silly."

"When someone says 'nothing really' in that way, they always have to say that isn't nothing, so spill."

"Well," began Faith looking up from her hands to Robin's face, "It was just a silly memory flashback and got to me that's all."

Robin starred at her and waited for her to continue.

"Well it was more than a silly flashback."

"I thought so."

"It was from five years ago."

"A Sunnydale memory."

"Yep."

"Was it something I said? Did something I saw trigger this memory?"

Faith looked down at her hands again which were still being held by Robins.

"Maybe but don't worry it was nothing big that you said just a small memory and Richard Wilkins was in the memory, that's what triggered me. That's why I ran off like that."

"Also because you didn't want me to see you cry. Am I right?"

"I guess so," admitted Faith looking at Robin.

"Richard Wilkins, he was like an old boss of yours, that's what you told me on the night.."

"I know but I told you what he was really for me and I think I was feeling bad that I hadn't thought about him much in these recent times."

"I'm no expert but maybe it's because your trying to start something new and keep the rest of your life in the past?"

"I think your right. You may just be yet still be able to become an expert," said Faith with a wink and a smile.

Robin leaned in to hug Faith. He was a little surprised she didn't pull back, it was because she was needy this moment. Robin had now gotten one thing out of her, he now needed to know what was on her mind the other day when she left the house and said she might tell him that night when she never did.

"Hey! You two hugging! Game time. If you don't get your butts out here this minute I'll put Andrew on your team."

Faith and Wood looked at each other looking slightly scared by the comment from Xander and Faith replied, "We'll be right out in a sec."

"You better," said Xander as he walked back outside.


	7. Evaluation

Chapter seven - Evaluation

"I think yesterday went rather well don't you think?"

"I think it did. We avoided Naomi every second we got."

"Oh and Julie and Sarah."

"True."

"Except when they got the chance to ask us how we were and we replied back politely and they just glared at us."

"Otherwise it went well."

"Good work Belle."

"Well I couldn't have done it without you Dawn."

"Well I better be going now. Got to study for my chem exam."

"Sucks after everything you have to repeat most of the year."

"Yeah. I wish I could just tell them an apocalypse stopped me from getting an education but then I don't think I'd ever have any hope of achieving anything, they lock me up in a white padded room forever."

"Well I should do too, got an essay to work on for college."

"See it's not fair. I should be thinking about college now and I'm stuck with going back to high school, again. I won't be surprised if this school is built on something magical, mystical, or evil blah blah. Anyways it would make school much more fun but umm dangerous too oh well I survived high school on the hellmouth, I can survive a stupid bloody one repeating school year in Cherster."

"Well put."

"Why thank you. Cya tomorrow!" said Dawn as she walked away from the park bench she was sitting on towards home to go study.

"Giles it was a complete disaster."  
"I thought it went well."

"No it went utterly wrong. No one was mingling."

"Well you weren't even either."

"I was trying. At least I tried."

"Maybe next time things will go your way."

"Next time? Ah no way I'm not holding the next one, someone else can have the disaster."

"Well In my opinion it wasn't a disaster, it went smoothly. No one died, no evil attacked, we weren't locked in a house we couldn't get out of, no one was eaten alive, hell didn't freeze over, we got out okay."

"Just because evil didn't attack doesn't mean it wasn't a disaster. Is that all you think about?"

"What?"

"Evil. Big Bads and vampires and things that go bump in the life."

"That was the old me. What are you talking about? I've changed. I have more interests now that don't even connect to the old ones. I do."

"What? I didn't even say a word."

"I can just imagine the look you have on your face right now."

"Well if you were at my house now you would be able to clearly see I do not have that look on my face at all."

Willow walked past Buffy in the lounge room and smirked and giggled at what Buffy said, it was a lie she did have the look on her face

The bell rang twice and Robin got off the couch from watching television to go answer the intercom. He had no real clue who it was, he wasn't expecting anyone to come visit and Faith was out and she wouldn't be back for at least a few hours. Robin spoke into the intercom and was surprised a little by who it was.

"Hey mate, thought I'd come round for a bit of a chat. See how ya doing and what's up."

"What a nice surprise. Come in," said Robin and Xander entered the door to the block of apartments and came upstairs to Faith's and Robins apartment.

Xander walked in and Robin closed the door behind him. Xander walked into the living room and Robin went over to the fridge and pulled out two cold ones, "You want one?"

"Sure. I'd love a beer."

They sat down on the couch and Robin turned off the television.

Robin took a sip of his beer.

"So what's new?"

"Don't have work today. Josh is making Andrew work double shift so he won't be back at our apartment for a while thank god and so I have some free time for myself."

"Must be a handful to live with him."

"Yeah it is. He's just so.."

"I know exactly what you mean."

"So Faith's not around?"

"No, she's out with Rona, some Slayer thing. At least I know where she is this time."

Xander nodded his head, "Right. Do you know what sort of Slayer thing?"

"Oh I think Faith mentioned she was going to tell her Slayer stories, doing some training with Rona and give her some tips. Apparently Rona has been begging Faith to do training with her for a while. Buffy hasn't talked to any of the Slayers about training yet and Rona and Faith had been talking and Faith was fine about using some of her spare time to help out the girl and I'm cool about it too. I think it's a great thin, for the both of them."

"Good to see one of the new Slayers keen to get some training in and learn the stuff."

"Yep."

"So how did my tips help you out yesterday with Faith?"

"They went pretty good, thanks, thanks for you know everything."  
"It's cool. It's fine. So did ya find out anything?"

"Well I was thinking, maybe the reason why Faith is acting a little different or whatever is she still is adjusting to her new life, being on the actual road to redemption. I know the redemption stuff started when she choose to turn herself in but after everything and now maybe she's still coming to terms with it and wants to be a better person and it's just knocking her head around a bit. Do you believe in people changing Xander? People changing for the better?"

"Yeah I do. Some people it won't work out for them no matter what but with Faith I can see that it will. Willow can do it, so can Faith. I may not have liked the guy at first and been a jealous guy but Angel he was a good guy, is and he's been doing the road to redemption stuff for ages and who knows how long he has to live on for and he just keeps doing it again and again everyday. He helped Faith get onto the redemption road. These people or with Angel.. never mind. they can change from what they once were or what they once did. If you can believe they can do it then you can believe you can if you ever fall into that situation. It's a good feeling."

Wood smiled.

"I have a feeling soon, soon Faith well tell me what's on her mind."

"How can you tell and be so sure?"

Small silence.

"Oh is it private."

Wood said, "I think she feels guilty that she is hiding something from me. Thank god she doesn't know I know that she is hiding something. But soon she will break and tell me. She told me she loved me, guilt and lies don't mix with love at least I don't believe they do so soon she will tell me. I just have the feeling she will. I don't know how else to explain it to you."

And at that moment Faith was standing in the doorway listening to these last few sentences both men had said. A tear formed in her eye. She let in run. She hated to cry. She wasn't used to it. When she was little she never let herself cry, it was a sign of weakness and she was afraid of her own weakness then against her mother and her scary stepfather. She let the weakness take over her in that moment. She was going to tell Wood the truth tonight, not because of what she heard but because she had already planned to tell him earlier that day.

Faith stood for a few moments longer, she thought it wouldn't hurt, until they had slowly switched topics. When it was safe to make her entrance less awkward that it would have been before she shut the front door making a sound they wouldn't be able not to hear and notice that she was home.


	8. Wake Up Call

Chapter eight – Wake Up Call

Time was about hit the five am mark on a Monday morning in mid June. Robin was lying in bed asleep and so was Faith but she was more spread out on the bed. She decided to take up all the bed that night with also taking more sheets. Robin couldn't do anything about it.

A noise could be heard in the faint distance but Robin ignored it. He thought it was part of his dream. The noise grew louder slightly. Robin's eyes shot wide open and he turn to his right and looked at the night stand, the clock read 5:05 and then the sound was much louder. The phone was ringing next to the bed. He went to grab the phone and answer it.

"Who is this? What time do you think it it? You don't go calling people at this hour."

"Hey Wood."

"Man, Xander are you crazy?"

"Last time I checked no."

'Time to re-check."

"Okay I found some stuff out for you."

"Did I tell you to find out stuff for me? I don't remember could be because of the time were talking on the phone to each other."

"I'm sorry, I just had to call you to tell you something."

"Fine go ahead, so I can get back to sleep. It's been a long night, morning whatever."

"Okay well I rang up some of the places which have had ads for employment in the last month or so to see if they have had anyone under the description of Faith coming in. First I checked out the normal places you'd check, the reliable hot spots but nothing, nothing sounding like Faith. Then I rang up all the others and I think I found the place. Tate & Stevens. You heard of them?"

"No, don't think so. Hang on, we have some fliers and cards sent to us in the mail on the kitchen table, does the it have a symbol with t and s across a circle and I dunno something like that."

"Yes. They have a woman working there for them as a secretary, I think that's what they said, under the name of Faith Wood. Now I know Faith's real last name isn't Wood and okay that would be just 'really' weird if it was, anyways moving on it has to be here. It makes sense with what you've told me."

"She used my last name?"

"Yes. Yeah she did."

"Isn't the other part a bit of a shock to you? A secretary?"

"Well um Xander actually tonight Faith told me that she had been working as a secretary but she just never told me who for."

"Well why didn't you tell me sooner on the phone?"

"Hmm maybe because I just got woken up."  
"Good point. But hey here's the weirder thing, I went to the Tate and Stevens website, companies these days always have websites and it said the company Faith was working for was connected and funded by the mayor of Cherster for various things."

"And this is weird because?"

"Faith worked with a mayor before."

"Yeah but this is different. How do you know she even knows that the mayor of Cherster is connected to where she is working?"

"I don't."

"Xander it's nothing. Leave it. Thanks for your help man and thanks for telling me where she works but just leave the mayor thing. I can see if something or someone makes a big deal about this is will be blown out of proportion and made bigger than it really is and I don't need that nor Faith. Things are going good between us, I don't want that ruined."

Faith turned over in bed and saw the bedside lamp turned on towards her right. She rubbed her eyes with her hands slowly. They were open now and she heard Robin talking on the phone to someone. His back was facing her. He hadn't noticed she had awaken.

"Who is it on the phone?" she asked as she sat up in bed closer to Robin.

"Is that Faith? Ask her."

"Just a second Faith. Yes it is and I'm not going to. Leave it, I don't want to talk about it again," said Robin sounding angry.

"Well I'm just warning you. Who knows if this mayor isn't evil."

"No one does but why don't you give him a chance."

"Evil is everywhere, you can't trust anyone."

"You trust me don't you? You trust Buffy. But you don't trust.."

"Don't say it."

"Robin what's going on?"

Robin turned to face Faith with the phone in his hand.

"I'm going to back to sleep now, goodnight."

Robin hanged up the phone and let Xander holding the phone up to his ear hearing a beeping noise. Xander sat at his dinner table in silence.

"Who was it on the phone?"

Robin hesitated but he looked at Faith and replied, "Xander."

"I don't understand. What, why don't you think he trusts you? What this about a mayor? You didn't tell him about the other day did you with.."

"No Faith, I didn't tell him. I would never."

Robin turned back around to face the light and put the phone down.

"I didn't think you would but I heard you mention the mayor."

"I don't think Xander trusts me about something because I believe he is wrong about it and I'd rather not talk about it with him anymore that's why I told him to leave it."

"John Monley, are you talking about the mayor John Monley? But if you were that doesn't make sense, it doesn't have anything to do with us or me," said Faith facing the wall to her left and then looked back to her right..

"John Monley?"

"Mayor of Cherster, I was watching the local news this afternoon when you were making dinner," said Faith smiling, then the smile faded, "And he was on, the mayor was on and that is when I heard his name. There was a terrible situation not far from here. This poor lady had a fit or something like that and she said she saw things that were unexplainable. Things that happened to someone in their life but not hers. It was all really weird but that's when I heard his name."

"He's the mayor of Cherster. Right."

"And that has to do with us in what way?"

Robin was going to hesitate again and Faith looked at him looking worried.

"I told you before I was worried about you when you were acting weird and leaving early in the morning and not that long ago I talked to Xander about it and tonight, well this morning he, he called me at a bloody stupid hour and told me he had found out where you were working. I had never asked him to do that, he did it himself. He found out that the company you work for Tate and Stevens was connected in some way to the mayor of Cherster and he thinks you knew."

Faith covered her face, "Oh my god."

Robin sat there in silence and was very still while studying Faith's body language.

"I promise I never knew. I swear," said Faith as she went to hold Robins hands.

"I believe you. I'm just afraid of Xander is going to do about it."

"I'm going to have to quit the job now."

"Why?"

"I can't work there. I just can't."

"But your not even working for him, it's not like."

"I know what you mean but it's different or the same. Who says he isn't evil. I could be working for the bad guy without knowing and what happens if he is and then it will look like I knew all along."

"Calm down. Your not going to quit your job. As like you said earlier your good at your job and you like it so Faith I don't see why you should quit. Don't worry about the mayor thing, it's just something small. I'm sure every mayor you come across isn't evil."

"Well yeah my mayor back in Boston wasn't evil in that sense."

"See. Your going to go into work today like everything is the same because it is. Nothing has changed Faith. If Xander mentions anything to me, I'll just tell him the same thing, it's nothing. This idea he has isn't anything and if he tries to talk to you about it tell me. I know you can handle things yourself but I want to know."

"Okay. I'll tell you."

"Good."

Faith went to lie back down in the bed, "Thanks for telling me what was going on."

Her eyelids started to close.

Robin turned off the light and got back into bed, "It's okay. You deserved to know. It's time to go to sleep now, we've got work later today."

"Yes indeed we do."

They both fell straight back to sleep.


	9. Underneath The Surface

Chapter nine – Underneath The Surface

Buffy was waiting tables, like she did everyday. She was at table eight serving Rona and Vi and catching up with them too, trying not to get into trouble by her boss Brian but he was hardly ever in to check on things and left thirty-two year old Ruth in charge and she wasn't scary, rather nice and friendly and easy going. Jayden had a shift there today and had about one hour left of the shift to go.

Jayden hadn't been feeling well the past day or so but he still turned up for work, he was a keen worker plus he wanted to really save up his money to get out of the town. He had lived his whole life nearly in Cherster. His sister ans brother had already had their chances to move away, even his parents and he was the only one left but one good thing was he got to live in the house.

Jayden leaned on the bench while he was waiting for some customers as his head starting to feel like it was throbbing. Ruth saw Jayden and thought he looked like he as in some pain.

Ruth walked up to Jayden, "If your not feeling too good, you can go home early, I won't tell Brian."

"No, No," began Jayden as he stood up straight, "I'll be fine for another hour until I go home. Plus it;s just about to hit peak hour and you'll need me here since Steven is stick and can't be here."

"Well it's really up to you but I don't want you dying in front of any customers, bad advertising for the place. Just imagine what Brian would say."

Jayden smiled and let out a little laugh and went off to serve table seven watching Buffy talking to two girls at table eight.

"Hey Buffy, I think that guy likes you."

"Oh not you two."  
"What?"

"I may have mentioned some guy from work to Willow and Xander and them and they think I like him."

"Jayden?"

"Yes Rona."

"The one staring at you for those past minutes?"

Buffy was silent for a second and then let out a sigh and said, "Yes."

"Seriously If a guy like that liked me I'd ask him out straight away. I mean look where we are living, I'm not paying you out Buffy but anyways there ain't many good guys in this town so gotta grab while ya can."

"I agree with Rona. Go for it."

"Vi and Rona, thanks for the nice suggestions and comments but he hasn't even mentioned anything like that to me or tried to and I don't want to misinterpret things he does or says."

"Who knows he might have mentioned something you don't even know it."

Buffy looked at Rona.

"Or he has tried to but got nervous, Guys can get nervous you know."

Buffy turned to look at Vi.

"I'll be going now to make you your order. I don't want to hear any more from you two," said Buffy pointing to them both with her fingers as she walked away still facing them towards the front counter and walked into someone.

Buffy had walked into Jayden and luckily he wasn't carrying anything but she knew what Rona and Vi would be thinking and talking about. Buffy sighed mumbled to her self, "so much for my waitressing skills" and then asked, "Ah, are you okay Jay?"

Jayden looked a bit disorientated.

"Ah maybe you should really be taking Ruth's advice about going home early, you don't look well," said Buffy as she put her reflexes to work and stopped him from falling over.

"No.."

Before he could finish the sentence Buffy moved him to the nearest seat and bent down to look up at him.

"No your not alright. Do you want me to drive you home?"

"Okay maybe I'm not alright. But I'm sure I'll be fine after I just sit here."

Buffy sighed. She had other customers waiting for her plus Jayden's now and walked off to finish her orders.

Ruth saw what happened and went over to Jayden while Buffy made Rona's and Vi's milkshakes and fries. Buffy sat down at the front bench counter after she had finished serving everyone she could to have a rest. She rested her head on the table part and starred over to Jayden's direction thinking about what Rona and Vi had told her earlier. Maybe he did like her, maybe he didn't. She thought he had a funny way of showing it. But what if he did fancy her? Did she like him back and was she ready for him? For a new guy in her life?

Moments later Jayden made the right decision to go home and Ruth helped him out to the taxi Buffy had called up for him. He probably wasn't in the best condition to drive home.

The trip home for Jayden was only at the most twenty minutes. He paid the taxi driver and the car drove away. As he went to walk down the path to his house Jayden nearly fell down in the gutter. The climax of the bad feelings and being unwell at work for the past few days was about to come. He staggered up to his front door and unlocked it. Jayden closed the front door behind him and put his back up against and it slid down till he was sitting on the floor with his back against the door. He felt like he might throw up but he didn't, he never even ran to the toilet just in case. It came as a rather sharp pain, not to the stomach, nor the hand but the head. Stab. A memory from the past, not the future or present bolted into the empty space. Blurry image of a young girl in a white dress looking rather pretty but Jayden did not have time to think about that. A man or thing with a disturbed face was in the surroundings as he let the girl drown to death. Stab. The memory left the empty space and a tear of confusion was released out of his left eye. The pain that he had felt earlier had disappeared. A picture of the girl remained clear in his mind. The unwanted memory gone. Was not his memory but Buffy Summers, waitress at Cuppa tea.

Buffy had finished her shift by now at Cuppa Tea and had arrived home to Willow cooking dinner while Dawn and Kennedy were having some childish fight. Buffy left Willow to handle that and had walked upstairs to lay down but before she made it to the bed she had accidentally tripped and fallen over a piece of clothing left on the floor in the hallway near outside her door way and her back was now against her bedroom door. Buffy slowly put her hand to her ankle where it seemed to be hurting but then the hand like instantly without an order rushed to her hand to hold it when it started to hurt. No headache, an unwanted memory. It was step back in time inside the head to a memory but in a way more than that. She was going over the moment in her head but it was like she was watching it from someone else's view or experience but at that moment when Buffy's head was hurting she did not have time to think about it thoroughly.

_Buffy is frozen with fear. The Master waits a moment longer and then _

_bends down and bites her at the base of her neck. He drinks a few sips _

_and lets her go._

"_Oh, God! The power!"_

_Buffy falls to her knees._

"_And by the way..."_

_Buffy falls face down into the pool of water._

"_I like your dress."_

_He steps over to the edge of his confines and pushes against the field. _

_He forces his hand through, and his confines break down in a burst of _

_light and energy. He starts up and out of his lair._

_Cut to the tunnels. Angel and Xander see the light coming out of an _

_adjoining tunnel._

"_What was that?"_

"_It's too late. He's gone up."_

_They break into a run for the Master's lair. Angel gets there first, _

_looks around and spots Buffy. He scrambles down to the floor and rushes _

_to her as Xander reaches the lair's entrance. Xander stops and stares at _

_Buffy in the pool. Angel reaches her and quickly pulls her out of the _

_water. He holds her and tries to listen for breathing. Nothing. He looks _

_up at Xander._

"_She's dead!"_

_Xander looks down at them and swallows hard._

Half an hour later, Buffy has made her own way to her bed and Willow has called out to her that dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Kennedy and Dawn have stopped the childish behaviour and are talking about just general things. Buffy's phone in her room rings and she hesitates to pick it up but does anyways.

"Hey Bu-ffy, I need to talk to you."

"You sound serious Jayden. What's the matter? You feeling any better?"

"Oh I'm better from what I was at work and that when I went home but something else has come up."

"Oh and um what is that?"

"I know you died."

Buffy was shocked. She really was. How could Jayden possibly know anything about her dying at any point in her life. She had no idea how he got the information and she knew none of the people that knew would tell a stranger or someone they didn't know well. She also didn't know which time he was referring to.

"No I didn't," said Buffy. She didn't know what to reply with.

"You can't get out of this one."

"Well what is your proof?"

There was a silence.

"At the moment I can't tell you that information but I know you died and your friend Xander was there."

"How? Tell me how you have come to this conclusion? You just can't say something like that out of the blue."

"Maybe I should be asking the questions. Yeah I know people survive after drowning, mouth to mouth but you looked like you were dying, the real thing."

"What? What the hell are you talking about?" asked Buffy who was very angry and confused.

"Okay that may have come out the wrong way."

"Yeah maybe it did," said Buffy in reply and then she burst out with, "You have the nerve to say something like that to me especially if it's true you like me. What the weirdest way to show me you do."

"Who told you I like you? Was it Ruth?"

"Don't change the topic like that? I thought this was a serious topic?"

"But you brought up the liking thing and yeah I like you and that's why I want to know more about you and why I know you died or drowned or whatever. It is all very confusing, if I only I could explain what happened but I can't because..."

"Why can't you? It would make things that slight bit easier to understand and less confusing."

"I wish I could but not right now. I need answers. You'll ask me questions right now which I can't answer plus more and the questions will pile up."

"Well one thing I guess we can agree on is we like each other," said Buffy with a soft shy voice.

"Well at least that's a start but please tell me something about this serious matter Buffy. I can't go to sleep tonight without thinking about it, about you."

"I just want to know why, how you know this thing."

"Were you about to admit what I know was true?"

"Maybe."

"Well it looks like we won't be happy without the others answer."

"I've had a long day."

"So have I."

"A busy, confusing one."

"Me too."

"I'm hungry."

"I have a sore ankle."

"Someone's on the other line."

"Well that isn't the same for me."

"Can we agree on talking about this over lunch?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Well I just did and don't push it."

"Okay I won't."

"Promise me you won't investigate this further. I'll," Buffy took a deep breathe, "I'll explain everything tomorrow."

Buffy couldn't believe what she had just said. Maybe she really did have feelings for Jayden. Maybe her heart said what she couldn't tonight on the phone.

"I promise I won't. Where and when tomorrow?"

"Two o'clock, Millards."

"Millards, the old creepy park?"

"Creepy park?"

"You haven't lived here as long as I have. Weird things have happened here that have happened no where else. You wouldn't believe the stories that have been passed on around here about what has happened in the past."

"No matter what, still meeting at Millards Park, no matter what creepy stories exist in Cherster."

"Some aren't just stories you know."

Buffy quietly answered, "I'm sure their not."

"Well I better let you go, the other person on the line probably is getting mad and I'll try not to think about it tonight."

"Good. Take care. See you tomorrow."

Jay hanged up the phone in the hallway, "She likes me, but she admitted she died. I always fall for the weird ones."

"Hello, who is it?" asked Buffy.

"God Buffy, you really need to take a course at talking on the phone for short periods of time and saying goodbye quickly."

"Well I'm on the phone now and talking to you now Giles so that should be all that matters, right?"

Giles sighed, "Anyways I have some important news for you?"

"Wow, today is just filled with important news."

"Huh?"

"Oh never mind, um work related stuff."

"Ah okay then. Moving on. Willow's research from the other week pulled off and we had definite leads in Italy, England and Scotland. I'll being going to each place myself but first spending time in England."

"Would have suspected you would have liked to spend time in the mother country."

"Hmm, and I'll be sending over Andrew first off to Italy to check things out there."

"Andrew?"

"Yes."

"Andrew? Sorry but this is a shock to me. Why not Xander? Or Robin? Or Rona and Vi?"

"Woah slow down with the names. Andrew. I chose Andrew because he seems eager, has the potential for a job like this, has nothing much else to do except at the moment bother Xander all day long. Do you really want him around annoying Xander, annoying you?"

"Okay you may have thought this out better than I have. You have some good points."

"I did consider sending out one of the others Slayers but then I decided not to. I don't think it's the right time yet to be sending them out all around the place, well at least for now. When I'm done in England I'll head over to Scotland then to Italy back to England then home. My trip will have me away from Cherster for a few months. I know this is something you don't like me doing, going away but I will be back Buffy, it's not like I'm going away and never coming back."

"When will you be leaving?"

"Quite soon actually. On Monday."

"So that leaves you what, five days at the most left before you go?"

"Yes, that's right. That's the soonest I can go, plus I have a few things to organize while I'm gone and I have to get Andrew ready for his trip and make sure he knows what he is doing."

"What happens if everything falls to pieces and goes wrong while your gone again?"

"Buffy try and be optimistic, nothing will ever be like it was once before. Anyways Cherster has been quite dormant, awfully not active while we have all been here and it doesn't necessarily mean a ten times more worse evil thing is waiting for us, it could actually mean nothing at all. I have faith n you Buffy that even if something may go wrong you can handle it."

"You mean nothing is clouding my judgement right now?"

"Nothing. Now I have to go Buffy. I have a lot of paperwork to do, you understand?"

"Yes, I better be leaving you to it then. Anyways Willow will have dinner ready now waiting for me. Thanks for calling. Talk to ya later Giles."

"Take care Buffy. Goodnight."

Both hanged up their phones.

Buffy walked down stairs to see what was going in in the kitchen. Willow was serving up the dinner and Kennedy and Dawn were cleaning up in the kitchen and setting the table. Willow turned her head to see Buffy come in the room, "Who were you talking to on the phone?"

"Oh just Giles. He rang me to tell me that he's going to England soon."

Willow looked worried and stood still. Kennedy looked scared by Willow face expression.

"What's wrong Will?"

"It's just that last time Giles went away for a long time,"

"I know," said Buffy cutting in, "I already had this conversation with Giles and he convinced me nothing will happen and if it does I can handle it, we can handle it."

Buffy walked up to Willow to comfort her, "He's only going for a few months anyways and he's sending Andrew off too so that's a plus."

"Xander will be happy."

"Yeah he will. Hey speaking of Xander did he ring back yet?"

"What was he ringing back for again?"

"I asked him to ask Robin if he and Faith would like to go out for dinner with us three next week."

"Oh yeah that. Nope. Haven't heard back from him. Maybe you'll have to call them up yourself. If you don't mind me asking, why didn't you speak to them in the first place?"

"Xander had just mentioned to me the other day he had to talk to Robin about something so I thought it was easier if he asked then."

"Okay."

"Hey! Aren't I invited to this dinner thing?"

Willow turned Kennedy, "No. I'm sorry but your not meant to get offended by this. It was just going to bet he original gang."

"So no girlfriends allowed or something like that? Robin isn't original criteria if I'm not. And what about Faith?"

Willow turned to face Kennedy with the baking dish in her oven mit hands, "No there isn't a no girlfriend policy, but if your going to get worked up and be so jealous over something so small, I may think different of you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Buffy and Dawn stood still in silence watching.

Kennedy threw her hands up in the air, "Suddenly I'm not so hungry." Kennedy walked off, grabbed her coat and slammed the door and walked out off into the street.


	10. Go The Distance

Chapter ten – Go The Distance

Faith walked into the office building at 6:55am, she looked around looking lost until she found Carole and walked quickly in her direction.

"Good morning. See you came just on time today. Usually your a bit earlier."

"Yeah I am. I had some other things to sort out this morning."

"Nothing serious I hope."

"No, nothing of that kind. I was actually looking for you because I was wondering, wondering if.."

"What is it Faith?"

"I was wondering if you knew already that Tate & Stevens was like partners with the Mayor of Cherster."

"Oh yes, I knew that, why you ask?"

"Oh no reason. Just a um little survey I'm doing."

"Okay then, as long as it doesn't stop you from doing your paperwork. Dale is going to be in all day today to check on our work and progress so no time for mucking around or extra work."

"Thanks for the pre-warning."

Faith then walked off to her desk thinking about what Carole had said.

She starred at the small photo on her desk. It was the only picture of her own that she had left. She studied it with care and drifted off. It was a picture of herself when she was ten years old and then the phone rang and she was startled by it and went to answer it.

"I see your at work."

"Xander?"

"Yes it's me."

"I don't have the time to talk."

"Oh it's because you've got work to do."

"Yes. Now just call me back at home later."

"We need to talk now."

"No we don't."  
"I need to know what you know."

"Your being very vague, what are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. John Monley."

Faith sighed heavily.

"So you know what track were on?"

"Yes. I do."

"Tell me what you know about what he's up to?"

"He's not up to anything like that."

"How do you know?"

"Gut instinct."

"So your not working for him?"

"For the second time no I'm not working for him. Not in the sense your talking about. Seriously. Let this thing rest. Listen to me, listen to Robin. Your making too much of a fuss about this. I have to get back to work. If you ring me up again at work I will tell Robin."

"Oooh what sort of a threat is that?"

"Bye Xander."

"Well I see now, you've gone all soft because of your new life. Your trying to be good, but it won't last long nothing lasts long. Happiness never lasts long."

"Thanks for the pep talk, bye," said Faith hanging up the phone and she turned around to face Dale.

Willow got dressed after finally getting up out of bed that morning. She wore her favourite blue top and flower skirt. Kennedy still hadn't come home but Willow wasn't too worried. Kennedy had done this once before.

Buffy and Dawn were in the dinning room having their breakfast in their pajamas and Willow walked into the room.

"Hey Will, what's up? Kennedy still hasn't come home?"

"Yeah, but I'm not worry, she's done it before, not like it's the first time it's happened," said Willow and she then walked towards the kitchen.

"Is that what you keep telling yourself Will?"

"Yep,"replied Willow dryly as she kept walking towards he kitchen.

Willow went to the cupboard and pulled out a bowl and then bent over to the draw to grab a spoon and placed then on the kitchen bench. Willow found some cereal in the pantry and poured in into a bowl. The milk was sitting on the bench and Willow went to pick it up and pour some into her bowl of cereal when only a few drops came out. Willow sighed and then went to look inside the fridge for some more milk, there was none left.

Willow mumbled under her breath, "Can this day get any worse?"

A few minutes later the front door opened and inside stepped Kennedy drenched by the sudden rain. She hanged her soggy jacket up on the rack and walked into the dinning room thinking Willow would be there. Willow knew it must have been Kennedy who came in and stood still in her place.

Buffy and Dawn stopped eating.

"Um if your looking for Willow she should be in the kitchen," said Dawn.

Kennedy looked in that direction and then back at Dawn and started walking out of the room replying back to her and she walked away, "Thanks," in a soft, quiet voice like she never intended her to hear it.

Kennedy pondered off to the kitchen, Willow slipped out into the hallway before Kennedy would be able to see her and then crept out the back door. Willow didn't really want to deal with Kennedy right now and went to sit outside on the steps, at least for now no one would find her.

Kennedy found the kitchen empty and held the bowl with dry cereal in it in her hands. Her hands started to shake and she put the bowl down. She looked around for any sign of Willow, none whats so ever. She made her way upstairs after that and sat on the empty unmade bed. She took off her boots and put them in the cupboard and laid down and curled up. She felt empty inside. She wasn't sure if her gut instinct was telling the truth or not, it would take time for the truth to feel real.

Willow sat outside for a little while longer until someone tapped her on the shoulder. Willow didn't budge. Buffy sat down next to her and put her right arm around her to form a hug.

"You okay Willow? Did you speak to Kennedy yet?"

"Ah no. I haven't seen her. She came home about fifteen minutes ago and went looking for you in the kitchen. How could you miss her?"

"I left the kitchen before she entered it."

"Oh?"

"Are things between you two a little patchy?"

"I guess you could say that. It's weird. I don't know what to expect from her. She's different you know."

"From Tara."

"Yeah. Then she does things like this and I just feel like giving up."

"But you love her ..right?"

Willow stalled.

Buffy looked at her friend waiting for some answer, "Well?"

"I just don't know Buffy."

"Maybe you two just need to spend some quality time together. You have been quite busy with that research in your spare time for Giles and then you have classes during the week."

"But so does Kennedy. She has classes during the week, she can't complain."

"Maybe you should go talk to her."

"I don't feel like it. I just want to stay here."

"Well I can't force you of course. All I can give you is friendly advice and you either take it or not. I'll leave you here now, I'm gonna go see what Dawn has today."

"She has her maths exam."

"How do you know?"

"She came to me for help the other day."

"Oh," replied Buffy feeling a bit left out but she tried to ignore the feeling from within like it was nothing but it could be something.

Five minutes later Willow left the spot she had been sitting in on the back steps and climbed the long stairs to her room.

Willow knocked on the slightly ajar room and entered into the void filled with silence. The morning sunlight shone through the curtain blinds. The light hit Kennedy's face and Willow could see that her eyes were closed and she was curled up on the bed on top of part of the sheets. Willow walked into the room without making a noise and went over to sit in the chair when Kennedy's eye's shot open and Willow turned to face her.

"Oh, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," replied Kennedy sitting up on the bed.

"Where did you go?"

"Just out, doesn't matter where I was really, I'm back and that should be all that matters."

"We need to talk."

"We're talking now."

Kennedy changed positions and sat up and held her knees with her arms and lent her head on her knees and arms. She looked directly at Willow.

Willow sighed, "Why do you do that? Go out, leave the house and come back when your ready? I never know where you go and I'm scared and I'm worried and your phone is never turned on. How do I know if your still alive, that vampires haven't gotten you, that something else has happened, how do I contact you? I can't. I don't know these things. You don't know what it's like."

"I don't know why, all I know is that when I leave here in a moment like that and come back I feel better and better than ever."

"You can't keep doing this."

"Or what?"

"I don't know."

"It's not all my fault you know. Your never around lately when your supposed to be having free time."

Kennedy moved to the right side of the bed and swung her legs over the side and leaned forward towards her knees. Willow walked around the room.

"Not you two."

Kennedy was confused.

"Buffy mentioned something."

"I never thought I'd say something like this but maybe Buffy is right. Maybe she has the outsider's view and can see what really is going on," said Kennedy turning to look at Willow. Willow stood still.

"You seem to be knowing what's going on, what's really going on."

"I think we need to spend more time together."

"Time like this? This is time together."

"Fighting? No."

"You call this fighting?"

"Could be if it gets out of hand."

"This is just tension and disagreement."

"What about if we go to the movies or have a picnic lunch? Would you like that?"

Willow was silent for a moment.

"I guess we could try that."

Kennedy smiled.

"You just have to go the distance Willow, for us. Just try. Things will work out. Everything will be better. I just know it."

But truly Kennedy could not say that with complete truth and confidence, she was just hoping she was right. There was only one way she could know really if her gut instinct was wrong or right and the key to the truth was written in the pages of the book underneath her pillow on the bed. She would use the book as her tool to the truth in the next few days when she was ready to find out the truth at the moment she was still shaken up from today's events and the other days as well.

Giles sat in his apartment surround by books all over the living room open at various pages. Giles wanted to do as much research as he could before he left the country to go overseas. He questions, many questions to asks these Watchers that were left. Not only did he want to ask them the most obvious of questions but a few personal ones about a certain subject. He wanted to know if they knew anything about exchangement of memories from one person's mind to another's in the same time but different place. He thought if he received someone's memory then one of his must have been received by that same person or someone completely different. He hadn't mentioned it to Buffy or anyone else yet because he wanted to keep it close to him only but maybe another Watcher had experienced it or had heard something, read something. None of his book would tell him anything and the few Watcher diaries left didn't really say much about this. There was only one vague account that could possibly have nothing to do with the same thing.

"Okay Faith, I'm sorry for ringing you up early today at work but I just really need to know the truth about what is going on with you. You have been acting weirdly and know part of it could be because of your secret that you have job and what it is but I think it's more than that and to protect everyone else you need to tell me and everyone else what it is. This mayor business with Richard Wilkins was important to you in Sunnydale and the lines run deep in you from your times and memories of him and ones of you with him and his and your relationship and I can totally understand why you would want another job or relation to another Mayor. You just have to let us all help you before it consumes you again Faith. I'm honestly just worried about you and care about you as a friend. Me and Robin are pretty good mates now and I've never liked my mates getting hurt in any way or form and that goes for you too. Please call me back."

The answering machine then let out a beep to say that was the end of the amount of time to leave a message on Faith's mobile phone which was on the hallway table in her apartment.


	11. Don't Kill The Messenger

Chapter eleven- Don't Kill The Messenger

As Robin entered the apartment he knew he would be home before Faith would. She wasn't due home until at least an hour. Since she had told him the truth she could now take a slightly longer shift which would benefit them both in the future.

As he set his keys down on the hallway table he saw Faith's phone and noticed she had forgotten to have taken it to work that morning. As he walked past it he noticed a symbol on the phone screen flashing, one new message. Robin thought about and decided he shouldn't check it and headed into the living area. He pulled out a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch and took a few sips until he quickly jumped up off the couch and into the hallway. With his free hand he pick up the phone and jabbed at a few buttons to unlock the key pad and access the message. It was a voice message.

Robin listened carefully to the message and set the mobile back down on the hallway table and walked back into the living area to sit back down on the couch with his beer. He skulled the rest and threw the beer bottle into the bin and walked at a rather brisk pace into the bedroom. He yanked off his tie and threw it onto the bed and collapsed looking up towards the ceiling. He lay there for a movement before he got up and moved again. He took of his shoes and chucked them into the corner of the room and walked back out to the hallway. He studied the phone with great care as he kept a close eye on the time.

He didn't need to playback the message again, it already did in his mind.

He knew Faith hadn't heard the message yet, but he knew she had spoken to Xander about it at some other point. He wasn't sure to wait for Faith's 'approval' before having ago at Xander. Faith had already not told him about the other times he had called her when she had said earlier she would tell Robin if Xander said anything.

He frowned at the phone and placed it back down on the table.

Twenty minutes had already past since Robin had arrived home.

Robin stared at the door, he didn't know what to do.

He then started to search around the room for anything that might help this big mess. He didn't know what he was exactly looking for but he just kept looking.

He found one of Faith's work related piles of mess and searched through it and found a small sized black sling bag. He found a laptop inside and pulled it out and opened it. The screen lit up and it was part of a website. He scanned the page using the mouse and found out it was the Mayors website for Sunnydale. Wood wasn't even a bit worried at this stage, only because of what had happened with Faith at lunch not too long ago with the thing about Mayor Wilkins. He realised it must be a secret part of the website only Faith and Richard knew about because it looked personal, looked like a personal file. Robin had found pictures of the two. Robin thought even in a time like that in Faith's life she looked full of complete happiness even if she would have never admitted to it at the time but of course deep down she was hurting. After slowly and quietly taking in the pictures that appeared in front of him, he decided it was best to stop looking for things and packed away the laptop to the spot where had found it and went to sit back down on the couch.

Faith had had a long day at work and for most of the time gotten many lectures from Dale about responsibility at work, coming on time, paying attention, being focused on work, yadda, yadda. Which Faith usually was at times until recently, very recently.

The day was coming to the end for work for Faith and she had started packing up a little early. She wanted to get home on time for Robin. She knew he'd already but she wanted to be as quick as she could, sometimes the traffic could get really bad.

Faith had finished filling the reports and the clock struck the time to leave and she turned off the lamp on her desk and tidied up the papers and put them in a draw. She picked up her bag from the side of the desk, said goodbye to Carole and Charlie and the left for the car park.

Faith and Robin had agreed on a car that they both liked when they went to buy one and it wasn't a sporty one. It was practical, small, but not too small, just right for them both and it was a deepish blue colour. When Faith had been going to work before Robin had found out most days she would just catch public transport and that was why she left a slightly bit earlier and Robin would take the car but now Robin was going to let Faith take the car because she had to travel further each day. The high school was really only a few block away and Robin could either walk or catch a bus.

Faith pulled into the car park of the apartment block, straightened the car up and then got out and locked the car. She made her way up the stairs to the apartment.

Robin had been sitting on the couch in silence the whole time, just thinking. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say to Faith.

Faith pulled out her set of keys slowly to unlock the door, she was so tried from work. The door unlocked and Robin heard the noise and jumped up off the couch, ran to the bedroom on instinct and had left the beer on the the coffee table.

Faith closed the door behind her and shouted out to Robin.

"I'm in here!" yelled back Robin.

Faith placed her bag on the kitchen bench and walked around the open room. She lounged on the couch and saw the beer, she picked it up and it was still pretty cold, Faith was already wondering what was going on. She took a sip and put it back and went to stand up. Faith made her way to the bedroom.

As soon as Faith entered the bedroom she said, "I'm so glad to see you," and stood up opposite to Robin, held onto his shirt collar and kissed him on the lips. Faith then sat on the bed and started taking her shoes off while saying, "Today Dale was so annoying. He kept harassing me all day. I'm just so glad to be home. He wouldn't stop bugging me about all these unimportant things," she looked at Robin, " and they were unimportant. He could have spoken to someone else and then he just went on and on about how I was late, I wasn't even, usually I'm early and that's because of Carole's fault, she was the one who brought it up."

"Sounds like a typical day at work."

"No, not for me. Usually much better."

Wood smiled and went to sit next to Faith. He put his right up around her and rubbed her back saying, "Everything will be fine. Tomorrow will be much better."

Faith smiled back and rested her head on his shoulder. She then quickly sat up and turned her body to look and face towards Wood.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

Wood looked concerned.

"Yeah."

"You just seem."

"Seem?"

"I don't know. Maybe my reading people skills aren't up to what they used to be."

Robin turned his head and looked away.

"No I am right. Something is up. Robin," said Faith as she put her hand on his shoulder, "Please tell me what's wrong."

Robin turned around to face her and she got up off the bed, paced around and then stood still and looked towards his direction ready to listen.

"Did anything happen at work today that I should know about?"

Faith's face went puzzled, "No I told you what I thought you should know."

"So nothing else?"asked Robin quickly turning his head towards Faith to ask the question and then turn away not to face her.

"Ah no," said Faith concerned about Robin was thinking about.

Robin went back to face her again.

"Today when I got home from work, I-I noticed that you left behind your phone today on the hallway table," Robin stood up and walked closer to Faith, Faith was wondering where this was going to, "And I noticed you had a new message on your phone and at first I didn't, I didn't touch it and then I went back and listened to the message."

"Robin? I'm not mad about that. It could have been a really important message about someone."

Faith stopped talking then realised something about what she had said, "Oh!Your hurt aren't you, by what you heard. Before you asked me about work and if I had told you everything," Faith turned her head and started to walk around the room.

Faith turned around and directly asked the question to Robin's face,"It's about Xander, isn't it?"

Robin gave the answer through a simple nod of the head.


End file.
